Prime Venture, Leo Capital back biotech startup StrainX in $13M round

Biotech startup StrainX Bioworks has raised $13 million in a funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and Leo Capital, as the company emerged from stealth mode after spending two years building its biotechnology platform and manufacturing capabilities.

The round also saw participation from Good Startup, Sparrow Capital, Sun Icon Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, and WindT Angels.

Founded by IIT Delhi alumni Akshay Mittal and Dr Alok Malaviya, StrainX operates in the rapidly growing synthetic biology and precision fermentation sector, an area attracting increasing investor interest globally as industries seek sustainable alternatives to conventional manufacturing processes.

The company said it has built an integrated platform spanning strain engineering, fermentation, process scale-up, and product development, while successfully demonstrating fermentation at the 10,000-litre scale. It is now working toward significantly larger manufacturing capacities, including pathways to 100,000-litre operations.

“Biology is becoming a new manufacturing layer for the world,” said Akshay Mittal, founder and chief executive officer of StrainX. “Over the coming decade, some of the most important products across food, materials, and consumer industries will increasingly be built using biological systems.”

Precision fermentation uses engineered microorganisms to produce ingredients and compounds traditionally sourced from plants, animals, or petrochemicals. The technology has found applications across food, nutrition, materials, personal care, and consumer health sectors, and is increasingly viewed as a key pillar of the emerging bioeconomy.

StrainX plans to commercialise products for global food, nutraceutical, and personal care markets, leveraging an integrated model that combines biological innovation, fermentation infrastructure, process engineering, and product development under one platform.

The startup has grown to a team of more than 100 scientists, engineers, and operators during its stealth phase and plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate research and development, expand its scientific workforce, and deepen commercial partnerships.

Investors backing the company view synthetic biology as one of the next major deep-tech opportunities emerging from India.

“StrainX stood out to us because it combines two things that are rarely found together in biotech: serious science and sharp business execution,” said Brij Bhushan, managing partner at Prime Venture Partners.

Rajul Garg, founder and managing partner at Leo Capital, said the company is building a rare combination of deep-tech biotechnology capabilities and industrial-scale execution.

The investment also marks the first India bet for Good Startup, a fund known for backing biology-focused technology companies globally. Gautam Godhwani, managing partner at Good Startup, said India’s scientific talent, infrastructure, and cost advantages make the country well positioned to become a global hub for precision fermentation.

The funding comes amid growing policy support for biotechnology and advanced manufacturing in India, as the government seeks to strengthen the country's position in deep-tech sectors. Industry observers see synthetic biology as a potentially transformative technology capable of reshaping supply chains across food, materials, chemicals, and healthcare over the next decade.

As it enters its next phase, StrainX aims to expand large-scale fermentation capabilities and establish global partnerships, positioning itself as one of a new generation of Indian biotechnology companies seeking to compete internationally.