Danish startup Enduro Genetics, which is on a mission to slash the cost of biomanufacturing by addicting cells to high production, has secured €12 million in Series A funding. The investment came from Supernova Invest (which recently backed Loft Orbital and Alice & Bob), NOON Ventures and Sandwater (which backed 1X Technologies and XO Life). The new funding takes the total raised by Enduro to €18 million including grants from the BioInnovation Institute and the European Innovation Council accelerator grant.
The funding will be used to expand Enduro’s platform and scale commercialisation.
Addresses challenge in scaling biomanufacturing
Declining production at scale and poor yields is a fundamental problem in biomanufacturing. The €400 billion market spanning industrial enzymes, biodegradable materials, alternative proteins, and pharmaceuticals relies on genetically engineered microorganisms to synthesise these compounds. Despite efforts, large-scale production environments trigger mutations, leading to cell-to-cell variation. As micro-organisms prioritise survival over production, non-productive cells outcompete productive ones for resources, resulting in these issues.
Enduro is tackling a long-standing challenge in global biomanufacturing: declining productivity at an industrial scale.
Eliminates low producers
Spun out of the Technical University of Denmark by Dr. Peter Rugbjerg and Dr. Christian Munck in 2019, Enduro’s patented synthetic addiction technology, developed by Dr. Rugbjerg, embeds a genetic plug-in into microbial production hosts, linking cell survival to productivity. This ensures only high-producing cells persist, removing inefficient ones and stabilising industrial biomanufacturing. Dr. Rugbjerg’s pioneering research has been featured in Nature and PNAS.
Enduro Sense applies across all expression systems where production strains burden microbial hosts, regardless of organism or product. It enhances efficiency in existing processes while accelerating innovation in new product lines.
Greener, safer, more resilient world
Enduro is commercialising its technology at a pivotal time when industries are embracing biomanufacturing to decarbonise and create sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products, such as bio-based fuels, bioplastics, specialty chemicals, alternative proteins, and pharmaceuticals.
The startup already counts clients including biomanufacturing leaders from both the biopharma and food, agriculture and industrial space.
Christian Munch, CEO of Enduro Genetics said: “This new fundraise is a key milestone for Enduro. It is a testament to the team, the impact potential of our technology and the market validation we have achieved over the last two years. The funding allows us to accelerate our commercialisation efforts, strengthen our technology platform and expand the technology for use in biopharmaceutical expression systems, and we are excited to take this next step with the strong backing of both our existing and new investors.”
Peter Rugbjerg, Founder and CSO of Enduro Genetics said: “Solving the cell-to-cell biomanufacturing challenge has plagued academia and industry for decades. Too many companies have been limited by the fact that only a minority of cells used in bioprocesses today contribute to high production. At Enduro, we’re redefining bioprocesses with a new optimisation technology to unlock biotechnology’s full potential, which we use to boost already very high-performing processes. This funding allows us to accelerate client adoption and commercialisation, and help manufacturers scale sustainably to drive meaningful change in industries that impact us all.”
What investors think about Enduro?
Romain Sautrau, Investment Director at Supernova Invest said: “Enduro’s novel technology could act as a critical enabler to break the cost barrier of biosolutions for a massive application into the food and chemical industries. We were impressed not only with the technology but also the team’s traction in such a short time bringing on board leading biomanufacturing companies. We look forward to working closely with Christian and Peter to support their growth journey.”
Theis Malmborg, General Partner at NOON Ventures said: “We’re delighted to double down on our investment in Enduro in their Series A round. Enduro’s cell reprogramming technology is solving major challenges in the bioproduction space and large organisations are already starting to reap the benefits. We believe the team will have an outsized impact on the future of biomanufacturing, and we are excited to be a part of that journey with them.”
