Why we invested in FabricNano

Introduction

Pace Ventures is excited to announce its participation in a $10m Series A extension round in FabricNano. This ambitious start-up aim to transform the chemical industry and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It does this by pairing enzymes with natural materials to create game-changing products. We’re thrilled that they’ve joined the Pace portfolio. The startup is run by Grant Aarons (right) and Ferdinando Randisi (left), two friends who met at the company builder Entrepreneur First.

What does FabricNano do?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of biotechnology, one breakthrough has sent ripples through the scientific community, promising to revolutionize drug discovery and design: AlphaFold, an AI model developed by Google DeepMind. This powerful tool can predict protein structures with remarkable accuracy, offering invaluable insights into the intricate world of molecular biology.

However, while AlphaFold provides the structure, there’s still a crucial missing piece in the puzzle – understanding protein function. This is where a new wave of startups like FabricNano is stepping in, harnessing experimental biology to collect proprietary training data in sectors like antibody design, ligand binding and enzyme chemistry.

FabricNano, a synthetic biology company that transforms chemical processes using cell-free biomanufacturing technology to make products that are more sustainable and, thus, less reliant on fossil fuels.

Specifically, it develops biocatalysts to enable the profitable production of sustainable and bio-based chemicals to be used in products such as cleaning products, bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels, and bio-plastics.

Market Opportunity: The petrochemical products market is expected to grow significantly, representing a trillion-dollar total addressable market (TAM) and a $75 billion serviceable addressable market (SAM)
Regulatory Tailwinds: Increasing government sustainability mandates and regulations, such as the EU Commission's "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability," support companies like FabricNano. The chemicals strategy is part of the Green Deal whose primary goal is to bring about climate neutrality for Europe by 2050 serving as a nice tailwind for companies like FabricNano.
Unique Approach: FabricNano's protein engineering method allows for immobilization of enzymes without altering their geometry and dynamics, enabling “drop in” industrial applications.
Strong Cap Table: The company is backed by prominent investors, including Atomico, Hoxton and Backed VC, and Emma Watson (UN Ambassador and actress), Biz Stone (Twitter founder), former Bayer executive Alexander Moscho, and Tania Boler the founder of womens’ health brand Elvie.

Why does FabricNano fit the Pace Ventures and what got us excited?

FabricNano aligns with Pace Ventures' focus on climate and innovative solutions for transition to a more sustainable world. The company's integrated software and wetlab approach, sets it apart from pure software-focused competitors.

How did the investment happen?

Here at Pace Ventures, we like to work with exceptional talent. During our DD, we introduced Grant to several SVP’s in chemical companies like Henkel and while not having a scientific background, he was going toe to toe on key industry topics; Ferdi, the CTO is strong on product development and simulation technologies.

I first met Grant before starting Pace and working at Henkel dx Ventures. His intelligence and passion for the biocatalysts changing the petrochemical industry immediately attracted our attention. At the time Henkel did not want to invest, as they were more focused on companies with product market fit, Series B onwards, but we knew immediately that FabricNano would be a good fit for us.

Looking forward

Their clients range from startups to international chemical clients like Sumitomo Chemical Company, all of which are looking for highly stable and performant biocatalysts to allow for profitable production of sustainable and bio-based commodity chemicals.

FabricNano's interdisciplinary team is based within the 'golden triangle' of Oxford, Cambridge, and London. The new funding will accelerate the scaleup of its FabricFlow reactor technology, starting with sustainable synthesis of chemicals for plastics and personal care products.

We’re excited to join the FabricNano journey.

Why we invested in FabricNano

Introduction

Pace Ventures is excited to announce its participation in a $10m Series A extension round in FabricNano. This ambitious start-up aim to transform the chemical industry and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It does this by pairing enzymes with natural materials to create game-changing products. We’re thrilled that they’ve joined the Pace portfolio. The startup is run by Grant Aarons (right) and Ferdinando Randisi (left), two friends who met at the company builder Entrepreneur First.

What does FabricNano do?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of biotechnology, one breakthrough has sent ripples through the scientific community, promising to revolutionize drug discovery and design: AlphaFold, an AI model developed by Google DeepMind. This powerful tool can predict protein structures with remarkable accuracy, offering invaluable insights into the intricate world of molecular biology.

However, while AlphaFold provides the structure, there’s still a crucial missing piece in the puzzle – understanding protein function. This is where a new wave of startups like FabricNano is stepping in, harnessing experimental biology to collect proprietary training data in sectors like antibody design, ligand binding and enzyme chemistry.

FabricNano, a synthetic biology company that transforms chemical processes using cell-free biomanufacturing technology to make products that are more sustainable and, thus, less reliant on fossil fuels.

Specifically, it develops biocatalysts to enable the profitable production of sustainable and bio-based chemicals to be used in products such as cleaning products, bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels, and bio-plastics.

Market Opportunity: The petrochemical products market is expected to grow significantly, representing a trillion-dollar total addressable market (TAM) and a $75 billion serviceable addressable market (SAM)
Regulatory Tailwinds: Increasing government sustainability mandates and regulations, such as the EU Commission's "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability," support companies like FabricNano. The chemicals strategy is part of the Green Deal whose primary goal is to bring about climate neutrality for Europe by 2050 serving as a nice tailwind for companies like FabricNano.
Unique Approach: FabricNano's protein engineering method allows for immobilization of enzymes without altering their geometry and dynamics, enabling “drop in” industrial applications.
Strong Cap Table: The company is backed by prominent investors, including Atomico, Hoxton and Backed VC, and Emma Watson (UN Ambassador and actress), Biz Stone (Twitter founder), former Bayer executive Alexander Moscho, and Tania Boler the founder of womens’ health brand Elvie.

Why does FabricNano fit the Pace Ventures and what got us excited?

FabricNano aligns with Pace Ventures' focus on climate and innovative solutions for transition to a more sustainable world. The company's integrated software and wetlab approach, sets it apart from pure software-focused competitors.

How did the investment happen?

Here at Pace Ventures, we like to work with exceptional talent. During our DD, we introduced Grant to several SVP’s in chemical companies like Henkel and while not having a scientific background, he was going toe to toe on key industry topics; Ferdi, the CTO is strong on product development and simulation technologies.

I first met Grant before starting Pace and working at Henkel dx Ventures. His intelligence and passion for the biocatalysts changing the petrochemical industry immediately attracted our attention. At the time Henkel did not want to invest, as they were more focused on companies with product market fit, Series B onwards, but we knew immediately that FabricNano would be a good fit for us.

Looking forward

Their clients range from startups to international chemical clients like Sumitomo Chemical Company, all of which are looking for highly stable and performant biocatalysts to allow for profitable production of sustainable and bio-based commodity chemicals.

FabricNano's interdisciplinary team is based within the 'golden triangle' of Oxford, Cambridge, and London. The new funding will accelerate the scaleup of its FabricFlow reactor technology, starting with sustainable synthesis of chemicals for plastics and personal care products.

We’re excited to join the FabricNano journey.

Why we invested in FabricNano

Introduction

Pace Ventures is excited to announce its participation in a $10m Series A extension round in FabricNano. This ambitious start-up aim to transform the chemical industry and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It does this by pairing enzymes with natural materials to create game-changing products. We’re thrilled that they’ve joined the Pace portfolio. The startup is run by Grant Aarons (right) and Ferdinando Randisi (left), two friends who met at the company builder Entrepreneur First.

What does FabricNano do?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of biotechnology, one breakthrough has sent ripples through the scientific community, promising to revolutionize drug discovery and design: AlphaFold, an AI model developed by Google DeepMind. This powerful tool can predict protein structures with remarkable accuracy, offering invaluable insights into the intricate world of molecular biology.

However, while AlphaFold provides the structure, there’s still a crucial missing piece in the puzzle – understanding protein function. This is where a new wave of startups like FabricNano is stepping in, harnessing experimental biology to collect proprietary training data in sectors like antibody design, ligand binding and enzyme chemistry.

FabricNano, a synthetic biology company that transforms chemical processes using cell-free biomanufacturing technology to make products that are more sustainable and, thus, less reliant on fossil fuels.

Specifically, it develops biocatalysts to enable the profitable production of sustainable and bio-based chemicals to be used in products such as cleaning products, bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels, and bio-plastics.

Market Opportunity: The petrochemical products market is expected to grow significantly, representing a trillion-dollar total addressable market (TAM) and a $75 billion serviceable addressable market (SAM)
Regulatory Tailwinds: Increasing government sustainability mandates and regulations, such as the EU Commission's "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability," support companies like FabricNano. The chemicals strategy is part of the Green Deal whose primary goal is to bring about climate neutrality for Europe by 2050 serving as a nice tailwind for companies like FabricNano.
Unique Approach: FabricNano's protein engineering method allows for immobilization of enzymes without altering their geometry and dynamics, enabling “drop in” industrial applications.
Strong Cap Table: The company is backed by prominent investors, including Atomico, Hoxton and Backed VC, and Emma Watson (UN Ambassador and actress), Biz Stone (Twitter founder), former Bayer executive Alexander Moscho, and Tania Boler the founder of womens’ health brand Elvie.

Why does FabricNano fit the Pace Ventures and what got us excited?

FabricNano aligns with Pace Ventures' focus on climate and innovative solutions for transition to a more sustainable world. The company's integrated software and wetlab approach, sets it apart from pure software-focused competitors.

How did the investment happen?

Here at Pace Ventures, we like to work with exceptional talent. During our DD, we introduced Grant to several SVP’s in chemical companies like Henkel and while not having a scientific background, he was going toe to toe on key industry topics; Ferdi, the CTO is strong on product development and simulation technologies.

I first met Grant before starting Pace and working at Henkel dx Ventures. His intelligence and passion for the biocatalysts changing the petrochemical industry immediately attracted our attention. At the time Henkel did not want to invest, as they were more focused on companies with product market fit, Series B onwards, but we knew immediately that FabricNano would be a good fit for us.

Looking forward

Their clients range from startups to international chemical clients like Sumitomo Chemical Company, all of which are looking for highly stable and performant biocatalysts to allow for profitable production of sustainable and bio-based commodity chemicals.

FabricNano's interdisciplinary team is based within the 'golden triangle' of Oxford, Cambridge, and London. The new funding will accelerate the scaleup of its FabricFlow reactor technology, starting with sustainable synthesis of chemicals for plastics and personal care products.

We’re excited to join the FabricNano journey.