Synthetic biology is an emerging field that involves creating artificial life forms using DNA and proteins. One such company is called Ginkgo Bio work which is making quite a lot of noise in the field of synthetic biology.
Ginkgo Biomaterials operates as a biotechnology company that specializes in making materials used by the biomedical industry. They make money from the fees they charge for their biotechnology consulting and research activities and also from the equity investments that they receive from the companies they help develop new technologies for.
Some people might say synthetic biotechnology is still fairly new, but that hasn’t prevented Ginkgo Bio’s work from becoming quite popular. Ginko Bioworks has received a whopping $790 million in funding so far.
After announcing its plans to go public, it got a whole bunch of attention from people in the market who were interested in knowing how they earn revenue. Read on to learn more about their company’s revenue sources.
Let’s dive right in.
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About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Biomaterials is a biotech company that specializes in biotech companies by renting out its genetic material manipulation services to other biotech companies. It charges them for these services and gets equity in return.
Ginkgo Biowork’s uniqueness lies in its ability to perform genetic engineering while maintaining a safe environment for people. There isn’t too much competition because there aren’t too many companies that can perform genetic engineering while maintaining safety and reliability.
Business Model of Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Biomaterials operate as a genetic material service for biotechnology companies.
Rather than attempting to create dozens of new drugs at once and then competing against hundreds of other pharmaceutical companies, Ginkgo Biomaterials makes hundreds of deals with hundreds of different pharmaceutical companies. So they can create hundreds of different drugs.
Moreover, they benefit from this partnership “working together” by both charging fees for their service and by having an interest in the success of any project.
Because they’re not competing in the same market, biotech companies don’t need to spend as much time developing their own products. Instead, they can focus on creating new ways to help others develop innovative solutions.
For computer systems, coding requires a small amount of electricity, and the time spent by the programmer. Even offices are no longer an obstacle for programmers and other IT professionals who can still produce high-quality work even if they’re at home.
Genetic engineering is not something we’re likely to see anytime soon. However, scientists may someday be able to manipulate genes inside cells using techniques similar to those used for gene therapy.
Instead of genetic engineering, we need to focus on creating new viruses using modern biotechnology techniques.
You might not want to purchase a DIY kit for genetic engineering if you’re concerned about the potential dangers of releasing a virus into the environment. However, there are plenty of other ways to genetically engineer plants without having to use a DIY kit.
Fortunately, most reputable biotechnology companies don’t want to be held responsible if something goes wrong with their genetically engineered organisms. So, they just hire genetic engineers like Ginkgo Biomaterials to handle their genetic modification projects.
Because Ginkgo BioWorks is entirely focused on genetic engineering and ensures the safety and efficiency of its foundry, biotechnology firms don’t have to worry about such responsibilities.
Because robots are more accurate and less prone to errors than people, a lot of the manual labor that’s done on these living beings is carried out by robots that have been specially designed for this job.
Moreover, if only a few companies are actually doing this gene editing, it is probably better for the public interest.
If some big, specialized, modernized countries are doing the genetic experiments, then world governments can monitor them because they don’t need to go to multiple locations and these big, billion-dollar companies can lose a whole bunch of money if they’re caught violating safety procedures that are so critical to global public welfare.
If we allow thousands of mom-and-pop shops to create their own genetically modified organisms (GMOs), then there could be thousands of GMOs out there that are not safe. With so many GMO products, even if they were safe, the chances of them causing some kind of health problem would increase significantly.
Due to these reasons (among others), the company’s strategy is a secure one that ensures they remain indispensable for the time being.
How Does Ginkgo Bioworks Make Money?
Gingko Bio work makes most of its money from two sources:
- Fees for using its services, facilities, and equipment
- Equity in any projects that are successfully developed
For Ginkgo Biowork’s exciting new products, the company has two types of revenue sources: fees and equity.
They currently have over 60 different products and services and will soon have over 500. Here are some of their most well-known ones:
COVID Testing and Vaccines
You’re probably aware of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and Modern Vaccine. But did you know that they partnered with Ginkgo Biotechnology for its development?
These particular vaccines use genetically engineered messenger RNA (mRNA). This mRNA trains the body’s own immune system to produce the exact proteins necessary to fight the disease. Nobody does genetic engineering any better than Ginkgo BioWorks, so they were required for this historic endeavor.
Thanks to the work of Ginkgo Bio work, a whole new world has opened up for “nucleic acid vaccines,” which are genetically engineered vaccines of the near term. These vaccines could be useful against viruses like influenza, HIV, and possibly even some types of cancer.
Ginko Bioworks has also tested its products extensively.
- Rapid antigen tests
- Pooled surveillance testing
There are several other projects to combat future pandemic diseases including:
- new vaccine platforms
- strengthening the vaccine supply chain
- synthesizing viral sequencing
- engaging in antibody discovery.
Conspiracy theorists argue that vaccinations are dangerous because they are designed to “rewrite” people’s genes. However, the fact that the creators of the website for GINKGO BIO WORKS state that “at their core, nucleic acids are injectable DNA code” seems to be evidence against these claims.
At their core, these two companies are working towards the same goal. They both want to create a vaccine against COVID-19. However, one company wants to get there through gene therapy, while the other wants to do so through messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Both methods are effective ways to treat patients. So, why does the public think that Pfizer and Moderna are doing something completely different? Well, because they are. One company is using DNA, while the other is using mRNA. These differences make them very similar, but also very different.
DNA resides in the nuclei of cells. For DNA to be changed by another DNA molecule, the latter DNA must first be taken into the nucleus of the cell where it changes the structural makeup of the cell. Thus creating a new species and producing offspring that are genetically engineered.
However, when messenger RNA (mRNA) is injected into a human, it makes contact with the RNA inside that human’s body and trains his/her immune system to produce antibodies to fight off coronavirus. It doesn’t go into the nucleus of any human’s body, so it doesn’t alter their DNA.
Food and Agriculture
Ginkgo Biomaterials has several initiatives aimed at solving global issues such as food supply problems and climate change.
Vegetarian/Vegan Activists Have Made the Case That Supplemented Beef/Dairy Industry Is Bad For The Earth. Ginkgo Biomaterials Has Been Bioengineered Various Animal Proteins So They Can Be Added To The DNA Of Vegan Foodstuffs.
To make the Impossible Burgers, scientists added hemoglobin to the DNA structure of plants so they could produce meat proteins in their cells.
For agriculture, GINKGO BIO WORKS has been genetically engineering microbes. The concept of crop rotations has been around since ancient ages. Farmers have always known, that some plants, such as corn and rice, tend to deplete the soils of vital minerals, while others, such as beans and peas, help restore the land. The problem is, that it’s the “high yielder” plants, those with the highest market value, that cause the greatest harm to the environment.
Ginkgo Biomaterials have created a new type of bacteria that lives on corn. These new bacteria can still enrich the environment just like old-fashioned bacteria that lived on soybeans. According to CEO Jason Kelley, this could open up a $70 billion industry.
With regard to cannabis and cannabinoids, Ginko Bioworks has created a type of marijuana-infused beverage. Combinations of the DNA from cannabis plants and the DNA from brewer‘s yeasts produce a marijuana-infused beverage made by Ginko Bio work.
Gingko Bioworks Funding, Valuation & Revenue
Over time, the funding for the Boston, MA-biotech company has grown exponentially. During 2015, from January through July, it quintupled. Then, it doubled again in 2016, and almost tripled in 2017.
The value of Ginkgo Biotechnology has increased by almost three times since 2019, and then almost tripled again since 2020. The current $17.5 billion market cap is due to a recent SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) acquisition with Soaring Eagle.
Ginkgo Biowork’s revenues have also been rising steadily, increasing by about 41 percent from 2019 to 2020 and almost double from 2020 to 2021.
Is Ginkgo Bioworks Profitable?
Ginkgo Biotechnology has yet to turn a profit because its operating costs exceed its revenues. It will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future.
However, their revenue has grown steadily and is expected to almost double by 2021.
There has been an increase in funding and valuations for companies working on synthetic biology.
It should also be mentioned that the projects of GKW have attracted some of the world’s most renowned investors including Bill Gates, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, Marc Benio
- Bill Gates
- Jeff Bezos
- Michael Bloomberg
- Richard Branson
- Ray Daylio (Hedge fund king)
- Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder)
- Jack Ma (Alibaba CEO)
- Masayoshi Son (Softbank founder)
Conclusion: How Does Ginkgo Bioworks Make Money?
After reading this article, you should understand the basic concept behind the company Ginkgo Bio work.
We hope that this post has both given you a great understanding of how Ginkgo Biomaterials makes its profits, as well as a glimpse into the world of synthetic biotechnology and what it could mean in the future.
As we discussed, Ginkgo Bio work is the largest organism development company in the entire globe. It develops genetically engineered organisms for lots of different purposes including creating fragrances, biofuels, food ingredients, etc.
It’ll be interesting to see how Ginkgo Biowork’s growth and success pans out in the world of biotechnology.
Companies like Ginko Bioworks embody the future – a time when biotech advances become even more sophisticated and humans use these technologies to fight disease and do amazing feats.
The big hope is for biotechnological advancements to improve human health, solve environmental issues, or replace our dependence on fossil fuels with cheaper, a greener biofuel derived from plants. Regardless of whether you think these ideas are right or wrong, they look like you’re about to get involved in something exciting.
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