Amyris Biotechnologieshas added to its third round of funding, taking it from $24.7 million to $41.8 million. But Amyris is not going to stop till it hits its $60 million target, hopefully later this fall, it says. Achieving this amount would boost its total capital raised to more than $165 million (to put this in context, it's lead competitors LS9 and Coskata have raised $25 million and $40 million, respectively, at least publicly).
The core of Amyris' business is the engineering of microorganisms so that they quickly and efficiently turn feedstocks like switchgrass and sugarcane into compounds that can be processed into analogs of gasoline, diesel (capable of powering cars and trucks) and jet fuel. It is one of several companies doing this (many of its would-be rivals have decided to explore algae-based fuels) but so far, is somewhat ahead of the game.
Amyris benefits from having top-tier backers -- both Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (two of Greentech Media's top five cleantech investors) have contributed financing to the Emeryville, Calif. company. DAG Ventures, Votorantim Novos Negocios, and TPG Biotech have also joined in, setting it apart as one of the best biofuel companies to watch. But the recent financing came from new backers GrupoCornelioBrennard (based in Brazil) and Naxos UK.
The company says the new financing will go toward construction of its first commercial-scale biofuel plant, slated to being production in 2011. It's still in the process of selecting the site and has just begun to order the necessary equipment. The facility will be based on technology it's already proven at its smaller pilot plant in Brazil.
When VentureBeat first reported on this third round of funding, the target amount was $62 million. It's unclear whether Amyris scaled its expectations due to a lack of investor interest, or if it didn't need as much to complete its plant.
The company was valued at $470 million last summer (a new figure hasn't been released). Its Brazilian connection is also a strong one -- it has teamed up with the country's lead biofuel company, Crystalev, to convert sugar cane into biofuel, planning to churn out 200 million gallons of it by 2011. Amyris is also working on a jet fuel, which it says should be ready for the market by 2012.
The company brought in a $70 million second round of funding in September 2007, and a $20 million first round of funding in October 2006.
VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Get your early-bird tickets for $495 before Oct. 10 at GreenBeat2009.com.