Amyris
Americas
Emeryville
,
United States
Established
FOUNDED
2003
HEADCOUNT
501-1000
FUNDING
Privately held
Keywords:
fermentation, metabolic_engineering, specialty_chemicals, flavors, fragrances, sweeteners, cosmetics, lipids, yeast
BUSINESS
Amyris, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, is a synthetic biology company that produces specialty fermentation-derived ingredients for flavors and fragrances, cosmetics, and food and beverage markets. After filing for Chapter 11 in August 2023, the company emerged in May 2024 as a privately held B2B-only entity wholly owned by Foris Ventures, with consumer brands divested and roughly $1 billion in debt eliminated; Manufacturing is centered at the Barra Bonita precision fermentation plant in Brazil, where a fourth production line (2x 80 m³) came online in March 2026, supplementing three existing 2x 200 m³ lines
BIOTECH INVOLVEMENT
Core; employs biotechnology for precision-engineered renewable chemistry and high-performance solutions. The company's Lab-to-Market platform combines molecular biology, genetic engineering, machine learning, and fermentation to convert plant-based sugars into target molecules, with engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the primary production host. Commercial molecules produced at industrial scale include farnesene, squalane, hemisqualene, Reb M, natural vanillin, and patchouli, supplied to partners including DSM-Firmenich and Givaudan.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
precision-engineered fermentation
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
custom renewable chemistry solutions