Mayoo Technology has completed angel round of financing, which will primarily be used for advancing experiments related to enzyme-catalyzed DNA synthesis, instrument development, and team building.
EqualOcean has learned that “Mayoo Technology (酶有科技)” has completed its angel round of financing, raising tens of millions of RMB. The round was led by “Linear Capital (线性资本)”, with participation from "MiraclePlus (奇绩创坛)" and "Danen Capital (旦恩资本)". The funds will primarily be used for advancing experiments related to enzyme-catalyzed DNA synthesis, instrument development, and team building.
Founded in March 2023, Mayoo Technology is dedicated to designing enzyme molecular machines that efficiently synthesize DNA through protein-nucleic acid interaction algorithms. This approach allows for low-cost, large-scale de novo synthesis of genes, thereby obtaining high-quality biological macromolecule data in large quantities and bridging the gap between large models and the microscopic molecular world. Currently, most global enzyme-based DNA synthesis companies use TdT enzyme-mediated methods, but the high cost of synthesis materials (such as modified nucleotides) is a significant barrier to commercialization. Unlike mainstream enzyme-based DNA synthesis companies, Mayoo Technology uses AI technology to design entirely new DNA synthesis enzymes from scratch, which can catalyze the synthesis of unmodified nucleotides at a lower cost, potentially reducing DNA synthesis costs significantly. Enzyme-based DNA synthesis not only addresses synthesis method issues but also requires the development of equipment compatible with the enzyme reaction system, making it a challenging and high-barrier field. It is reported that Mayoo Technology is already in discussions with high-throughput enzyme synthesis instrument and chip companies, as well as semiconductor company researchers.
EqualOcean understands that DNA synthesis is considered a key foundational technology in synthetic biology. Synthetic biology involves redesigning biological systems by coding genes and modifying organisms, with broad application prospects in medical, agricultural, and energy sectors. It is projected that the domestic synthetic biology market will exceed CNY 8 billion in 2023 and is expected to surpass 10 billion CNY in 2024.
Currently, the mainstream technology for DNA synthesis is chemical synthesis (solid-phase phosphoramidite synthesis). This method is well-suited for synthesizing short DNA fragments but is less advantageous for synthesizing long DNA fragments or chromosome-level DNA, and it involves high costs. The research on enzyme-based DNA synthesis technology, which accelerated around 2020, leverages enzyme-catalyzed reactions to potentially synthesize longer DNA molecules at lower costs, thereby overcoming the limitations of chemical synthesis methods.