Siluria Tech takes in $3.3M for nanoscale engineering

Siluria Technologies, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm specializing in engineering inorganic materials with biological nanotechnology, has brought in $3.3 million in equity and convertible preferred stock from undisclosed investors, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company, which has no prior funding history, was founded by former academic Andrea Belcher, who devised a way to manipulate DNA in viruses to synthesize new inorganic materials. One of her first projects was to create a virally-built battery capable of powering small devices. Belcher has also used yeast and other microorganisms to create solar cells, displays and other recognizable products. The processes used are more environmentally friendly than the alternatives.

Siluria is not the first company she has founded based on this technology. In 2003, she co-founded Cambrios Technologies in Mountain View, Calif., to market biologically-produced electronics. Siluria, on the other hand, remains in stealth mode. It was founded in 2007.