Beauty powered by expressive biology: Arcaea scores US$78M to develop cosmetic ingredients

28 Oct 2021 --- Arcaea, a subsidiary of Ginkgo Bioworks, has landed US$78 million in series A funding to create sustainable, previously inaccessible ingredients for the industry through expressive biology – biology used as a creative tool for self-expression.

The funding will enable Arcaea to initiate programs across key categories in beauty and further develop categories such as new fragrances, proteins for hairstyles, contouring through skincare and biological filters that protect skin from external elements.

The consortium of investors includes Cascade Investment, Viking Global, Chanel, Givaudan and Wittington Ventures.

A regenerative beauty era
Jasmina Aganovic, beauty entrepreneur and CEO of Arcaea, says that it will accelerate the beauty industry’s transition from industrial chemistry to a more regenerative era driven by biology.

“Through Arcaea, we see biology as a creative tool that will drive the next generation of products and innovation. We can now access many more molecules on earth ethically and sustainably and therefore can unlock unlimited possibilities for beauty,” says Aganovic.

“One of the most impactful things we can do is support entrepreneurs and help them accelerate their timelines to utilize biology,” adds Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks.

“Arcaea’s launch will begin its journey to deliver creative solutions to the beauty industry through biology.”Arcaea will leverage technology such as DNA sequencing, biological engineering and fermentation to produce new ingredients.

This Series A financing round brings together a mix of expertise across the value chain of the industry.

Creating a new supply chain
Arcaea intends to create a new supply chain for the industry that does not rely on petrochemicals or harvesting and depleting natural resources by culturing safe and sustainable ingredients.

This approach enables Arcaea to produce “highly sustainable” products that deliver new functionality and performance across skincare, body care, hair care and aesthetics.

Aganovic brings industry experience translating innovation in beauty through brands and products at beauty companies, including Fresh and Living Proof and the innovative microbiome beauty company Mother Dirt.

Instead of stripping and sterilizing our skin, the importance of the skin microbiome and the need for cosmetic products that benefit, balance and enhance the population of microbes living on its surface is now recognized.

Merging biology and beauty
PersonalCareInsights previously reported on the use of biology and its potential in the beauty space. Last week, Green Mountain Biotech, with its team of experts in biology, partnered with Acme Hardesty to bring its Botaniplex portfolio to the US and Canadian markets.

Meanwhile, Amyris enlisted Inscripta’s genome engineering platform Onyx – a synthetic biology technology – to enhance its sustainable fermented ingredients R&D pipeline across several personal care segments, including clean beauty.

Edited by Nicole Kerr