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Scindo develops advanced biocatalysts using an AI-powered enzyme discovery and design platform to redefine industrial chemistry. The company’s technology creates next-generation enzymes that enable sustainable manufacturing by offering precise control over selectivity, unlocking new synthesis routes, and significantly reducing energy consumption, waste, and dependence on fossil feedstocks. This approach facilitates direct pathways from natural, renewable, or upcycled feedstocks to high-value bioactive ingredients used across various consumer products.
The company was launched on April 1, 2020, co-founded by Gustaf Hemberg, Juliet Sword, and Ben Davis. Hemberg serves as CEO, Sword as COO, and Professor Davis, a Fellow of the Royal Society, acts as Chief Scientific Advisor, bringing significant academic and scientific pedigree to the venture. Their collective insight centered on leveraging biological systems to innovate chemical processes, addressing the pressing need for sustainable alternatives in manufacturing.
Scindo's products are designed for industries seeking to incorporate sustainable ingredients into cosmetics, personal care items, and nutritional products. The company’s long-term vision is to transform the chemical industry by building chemistry through biology, ultimately aiming to unlock enzyme capabilities far beyond what exists in nature and eliminate reliance on petroleum-based inputs.
Scindo has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round.
Scindo has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Scindo has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in September 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2025 | $5M Seed | — | AgFunder, Mayfield, Vishal RAO | Announced |
Scindo is a UK-based biotech startup founded in 2020 that develops an AI-powered platform for enzyme discovery and design, creating biocatalysts to transform renewable, upcycled, or waste feedstocks—like plastics—into high-value bio-based ingredients for industries such as cosmetics, personal care, nutrients, foods, flavors, and fragrances.[1][2][3] It serves chemical manufacturers and sustainable production sectors by solving the reliance on petroleum-based chemicals, reducing energy use, waste, and fossil feedstocks through selective, efficient biotransformations that enable circular economy pathways.[1][2][4] Scindo has secured pre-seed and seed funding totaling around $5M (including a recent £4M round led by Paulig's PINC), established multiple development partnerships since 2022, and is scaling pilot production with a growing team of experts in AI, enzyme engineering, and molecular biology.[1][2][5]
Scindo emerged in 2020 from IndieBio's New York accelerator, addressing the global plastic waste crisis—over 9 billion tons produced, with 79% landfilled and only 9% recycled in the US—by targeting unrecyclable plastics like those hardest to break down.[1][4] Founders Gustaf Hemberg (CEO), Juliet Sword (COO), and Ben Davis, FRS (Chief Scientific Advisor) launched the company on April 1, 2020, with early milestones including Plug and Play's New Materials cohort in 2021, winning Givaudan's Front End Innovation Awards in December 2021, and a pre-seed round in April 2022.[1] Pivotal moments include the first development partnership in May 2022, followed by others, demonstrating rapid traction in sustainable biotech; the company has evolved from plastic recycling focus to broader enzyme platforms for renewable feedstocks, bolstered by a £4M investment in 2024 (exact date not specified) to expand AI models and wet-lab capabilities.[1][2][5]
Scindo rides the sustainable biotech and circular economy wave, capitalizing on rising demand for bio-based alternatives amid regulatory pressures (e.g., plastic bans) and corporate net-zero goals in chemicals and consumer goods.[1][2][4] Timing is ideal post-2020, with AI-biotech convergence enabling breakthroughs in enzyme engineering that traditional chemistry can't match, fueled by market forces like 8M tons of annual ocean plastic and investor focus on low-emission food/flavor systems.[1][2][4] It influences the ecosystem by partnering with incumbents (e.g., Givaudan, Paulig), advancing plastic upcycling to high-value molecules, and proving biological platforms can disrupt petrochemical dominance—potentially redefining manufacturing for a post-fossil era.[2][3][4]
Scindo is poised for explosive growth, leveraging its £4M funding to scale enzyme discovery, wet labs, and commercialization—likely yielding first market products via partnerships in 2025-2026.[2][5] Trends like AI-driven synthetic biology, stricter ESG mandates, and circular feedstock mandates will propel it, evolving its influence from niche plastic recycler to broad biocatalyst leader in sustainable chemistry.[1][2] As biotech matures, expect Scindo to capture share in a $100B+ flavors/fragrances market, transforming waste into everyday essentials and redefining industrial chemistry's future.[1][2]
Scindo has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Scindo's investors include AgFunder, Mayfield, Vishal Rao.
