Ansa Biotechnologies

Company Overview

Ansa Biotechnologies, founded in 2018 as a spinout from the University of California, Berkeley, is commercializing novel enzymatic DNA synthesis technology. The technology is based on a polymerase, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), which doesn’t require a template to synthesize DNA. Ansa conjugates a single nucleotide to the TdT enzyme. The enzyme remains covalently attached to the DNA after it adds this nucleotide and is subsequently cleaved off prior to the next nucleotide addition.

This process results in a slightly modified base on the newly synthesized DNA, and also uses up the enzyme at each cycle. Based on this, the initial applications of the process may include those that only require a small amount of DNA such as PCR primers.

In November 2020, Ansa Biotechnologies formed a partnership with TeselaGen Biotechnology. Through this alliance, Ansa accesses operating system tools for designing, building, and optimizing its DNA synthesis and manufacturing workflows. The alliance has the potential to significantly bolster Ansa’s DNA manufacturing processes.

In January 2021, Ansa Biotechnologies collaborated with Microsoft to harness the potential of synthetic DNA for data storage. Microsoft’s sustainable DNA data storage project has specifically enlisted Ansa Biotechnologies to help develop customized enzymatic reagents.

In April 2022, Ansa Biotechnologies closed an oversubscribed Series A financing round of $68 million. The company’s total funding reached $82 million. Ansa Biotechnologies plans to use this funding, led by Northpond Ventures, to speed the development activities of its next-generation enzymatic DNA synthesis technology based on polymerase-nucleotide conjugates. This will be done by expanding its R&D and manufacturing facilities as well as by growing its multidisciplinary expertise across bioinformatics, chemistry, operations, engineering, and biochemistry.

Company's Business Segments

• DNA Synthesis : The company provides manufactured synthetic DNA that overcomes the limitations of traditional DNA synthesis methods by using enzymatic DNA synthesis technology.