Japanese chemical firm Zeon Corporation Zeon Corporation, through its corporate venturing subsidiary Zeon Ventures Inc. (California, US), has invested in Visolis, Inc, a US start-up, developing an innovative biomanufacturing platform.
Zeon says it will partner closely with Visolis to help accelerate development of the company’s sustainable biomanufacturing processes. Visolis is developing a biomanufacturing platform combining artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and traditional chemical catalysis to efficiently produce a portfolio of carbon negative chemicals.
Visolis’s proprietary process transforms sustainable raw materials, including waste biomass, into bio-based chemicals with diverse applications ranging from active ingredients for personal care to drop-in replacements for commodity petrochemicals.
To accelerate the transition to a sustainable society, Zeon will work together with Visolis in enabling cost-competitive, bio-based chemicals for a range of applications from cosmetics to cars.
Zeon says it will continue to invest in and nurture start-ups in four key areas (healthcare and life sciences, CASE and MaaS, telecommunications (5G/6G), and energy conservation).
Visolis was established in 2017 and has recently completed a US$8 million fund-raising round. Other companies involved in Visolis include Sumitomo Chemical, Nikko Chemicals and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.