Synthetic biology's coming of age in India – the Fermbox Bio story

Bengaluru, often seen as synonymous with India’s software prowess, is also home to an exciting biotech cluster. The city is increasingly home to ventures that blend biotechnology with engineering in ways that could reshape how we produce everyday goods.

Fermbox Bio for example, in our own portfolio, exemplifies this shift. The company's work in precision fermentation points to a larger opportunity: synthetic biology —the design and engineering of biological systems, is moving from laboratory curiosity to commercial reality in India, and the country is well positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

India's bioeconomy has expanded rapidly in recent years. The sector reached $165 billion in 2024, from $10 billion in 2014, and accounts for more than 4.2 percent of the country's GDP. The Department of Biotechnology projects the sector will reach $300 billion by 2030.

Within this broader landscape, synthetic biology is one of the fastest-growing segments. India's synthetic biology market generated $513.2 million in revenue in 2024 and is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 2030, at a growth rate of 21.1 percent annually.

Fermbox was founded in 2022 by Subramani (suBBu) Ramachandrappa and Preeti Dharmagoudar. Subbu is a biotech entrepreneur who previously founded Richcore Life Sciences. Over the years, Richcore evolved from an enzyme applications company into a recombinant protein manufacturing business and later built a bio-CDMO vertical serving global synbio companies looking to scale technologies from lab to plant. In 2020, Richcore Life Sciences was acquired by Laurus Labs and has since been rebranded as Laurus Bio. Preeti Dharmagoudar, who leads Product Strategy at Fermbox, is a senior industry executive with prior experience at Abbott Nutrition and Biocon.

At Fermbox Bio, the team has built an integrated technology platform called Bio-ARC, spanning strain engineering, enzyme optimization, and fermentation process design. Designed to translate engineered biology into scalable manufacturing, Bio-ARC enables product development across three key segments: industrial and key starting materials, flavours and fragrances, and colours and dyes. It combines biofoundry-driven strain development with Fermbox Bio’s in-house capability to design, build, and operate large-scale fermentation plants—a closed-loop approach that reduces scale-up risk, strengthens IP protection, and delivers reliable, cost-competitive production.

Fermbox follows a multi-modal, asset-light manufacturing strategy designed to balance speed, capital efficiency, and scale. Early production and scale-up are enabled through the strategic use of contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), allowing rapid market entry and flexible capacity without heavy upfront capital. For larger or long-term programs, Fermbox pursues on-site or “over-the-fence” collaborative manufacturing plants with anchor customers, aligning capacity expansion directly with demand while sharing risk and infrastructure. In parallel, Fermbox plans for a dedicated anchor manufacturing facility to support core products and platform capabilities, providing long-term cost control, operational reliability, and a foundation for sustained growth across its precision fermentation portfolio.

The company's first commercial product, EN3ZYME, launched in 2024. It is a cellulase enzyme cocktail that breaks down agricultural waste and non-food biomass — bagasse, cotton stalks, corn stover, bamboo — into fermentable sugars. These sugars can then be used to produce second-generation ethanol (2G ethanol) or to serve as feedstock for precision fermentation-based biomanufacturing that can produce molecules like fragrances and other specialty chemicals.

The second product is Bio-Hexenol, an enzymatically-synthesised cis-3-hexenol that delivers a fresh “green-note” aroma for flavours and fragrances. The product has been scaled up and commercialised and is currently being sampled with global F&F companies, with commercial discussions underway. The company also has a lineup of products under development at the company’s innovation centre The Forge. 

The broader context matters. Global synthetic biology is expanding at about 17.3% annually and is expected to reach $42 billion by 2030.  Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, driven largely by China, while India is increasingly emerging as a meaningful player. Government support through initiatives like the Bio-RIDE scheme and manufacturing-linked incentive programs are reducing barriers to entry. The number of biotech companies in India has nearly doubled since 2021, from 5,365 to 10,075.

Fermbox Bio’s focus on scaling through partnerships and collaborations, and on solving real-world problems, reflects the steady maturation of India’s biotech sector. The company operates under the radar compared with venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley, and yet it is building infrastructure and capabilities that may matter more than any single product.

Synthetic biology and precision fermentation unlock growth across multiple industries by enabling scalable, sustainable, and high-value bio-based manufacturing. By reducing reliance on agricultural and petrochemical supply chains, they support import substitution, export-oriented production, and partnerships with global players seeking resilient, low-impact manufacturing platforms.

India offers a strong cost and talent advantage for biomanufacturing, supported by significantly lower operating costs and a deep pool of skilled professionals across fermentation, downstream processing, quality, and regulatory functions. Its expanding network of biopharma clusters, CMOs, and research institutions enables efficient scaling, while its position as a China+1 manufacturing alternative allows global companies to diversify supply chains and reduce geopolitical and concentration risks.

The precision fermentation market in India is growing and the direction is clear. For entrepreneurs and investors watching the space, Fermbox Bio offers a useful model: focus on real manufacturing challenges, partner widely, and let the technology create value.