-- One of the largest deep tech investments of 2020 to fuel additional product 
releases and development of breakthrough materials

Science and material innovation company Zymergen ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2911010-1&h=1448580407&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zymergen.com%2F&a=Zymergen 
) today announced $300M in new investment to accelerate its delivery of 
revolutionary, high performance materials. The investment includes initial 
Series D funding led by Baillie Gifford, joined by Baron Capital Group and one 
of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, as well as additional growth 
financing from Perceptive Advisors. A number of current investors are also 
returning, and Zymergen expects to raise additional capital in Q4 as part of a 
Series D round. 

Logo -  https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1218528/Zymergen_Logo.jpg 

This infusion of capital powers Zymergen's charge into the $3 trillion chemical 
and materials industries, speeding the manufacture of their groundbreaking 
Hyaline ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2911010-1&h=35878740&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesswire.com%2Fnews%2Fhome%2F20200401005197%2Fen%2FZymergen-Reimagines-Electronics-Breakthrough-Bio-fabricated-Materials&a=Hyaline 
) film, as well as the commercialization of additional breakthrough products 
across electronics, agriculture, consumer care and healthcare. 

Zymergen develops and launches better performing products more sustainably and 
for a fraction of the cost and time that it typically takes using incumbent 
techniques. A unique combination of biology, chemistry, machine learning and 
lab automation underpins Zymergen's powerful proprietary platform, driving the 
company's ability to discover, design and commercialize never-before-seen 
materials.

Zymergen's broad portfolio of products is a beacon of innovation in an 
otherwise stagnant chemical and materials sector. The American Chemistry 
Council reported that the U.S. chemical industry contracted by 3% in 2019(1), 
an industry that has produced no breakthrough materials since the 1980s. 
Beholden to existing manufacturing infrastructure and outdated practices, many 
legacy chemical companies have reduced investments in research and new material 
development, leaving people with inferior products and a planet with increasing 
environmental damage. Even while contracting, the U.S. chemical industry 
remains a huge contributor to global climate change, generating over 190 
million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 alone as reported to 
the EPA(2). 

"Our investment philosophy is to identify companies that can deliver 
transformational change over the long term," said Peter Singlehurst, Head of 
Unlisted Equities at Baillie Gifford. "Zymergen is demonstrating their ability 
to create products at scale with properties that were previously unimaginable. 
Their rich and growing product pipeline, coupled with their platform approach, 
makes this a repeatable process that gets better over time. As long-term 
investors, we seek out companies with the potential to change industries over 
decades. Zymergen is such a company."

The investment announced today helps to bring the revolutionary Hyaline ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2911010-1&h=35878740&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesswire.com%2Fnews%2Fhome%2F20200401005197%2Fen%2FZymergen-Reimagines-Electronics-Breakthrough-Bio-fabricated-Materials&a=Hyaline 
) product to market more quickly, and accelerates Zymergen's development of 
all-natural pesticides and other bio-derived crop protection products, as well 
as a bio-based insect repellent. These product innovations are supported by a 
powerful platform and technology infrastructure, protected by a strong and 
growing data set.

"Zymergen is taking the torch from earlier generations of innovators and 
tackling a huge opportunity to create transformative products with biology," 
said Jay Flatley, Chairman of the board at Illumina and Lead Independent 
Director of Zymergen's Board. "Zymergen is turning their powerful vision into 
reality - in the form of real products - and capturing massive new markets that 
provide value for customers and investors alike."

"We built Zymergen to make revolutionary hi-performance products that outshine 
existing materials while dramatically reducing environmental impacts," said 
Zymergen CEO Josh Hoffman. "This is the right investment for this moment, 
advancing our transformational long-term vision and bringing real products to 
market." 

About Zymergen
Zymergen is a science and material innovation company rethinking biology and 
reimagining the world. A World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, Zymergen partners 
with nature to create never-before imagined materials and products across 
industries – from agriculture to electronics, consumer care to pharmaceuticals, 
and more. The company creates sustainable materials that are in use today, 
delivering value for Fortune 1000 companies with over $1 billion worth of 
products using Zymergen microbial innovations sold to date. At Zymergen we make 
tomorrow. Learn more at https://www.zymergen.com/  

Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking 
statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon future events or 
conditions, including statements regarding the company's growth, the growth of 
new markets and the creation, timing and performance of new products, services 
and solutions, as well as their broader impact. These statements are not 
guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties, 
risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual 
results, performance or achievements may be materially different from current 
expectations.

(1)https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-rel
eases/Chemical-Industry-Outlook-Slower-Growth-Amid-Near-Term-Headwinds.html 

(2)https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/ghgrp-chemicals

SOURCE  Zymergen

CONTACT: Mike Dulin, Director of Communications, mdulin@zymergen.com, 
+1-502-777-2029