# MicroCyto (微元合成)
MicroCyto (微元合成生物技术（北京）有限公司) is a Beijing-based synthetic biology startup founded in 2021 by Liu Bo (刘波) that applies artificial intelligence to the biomanufacturing of bulk bio-based products, and it remains an active, independent company as of mid-2026. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [2](https://www.medvalley.cn/yiyao/78735.html) It is headquartered in the Life Science Park in Changping District, with production and R&D bases in Qinhuangdao, Hebei. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195) Across seven disclosed financing events from 2022 through May 2026 it has raised at least roughly RMB 2.5 billion, capped by a RMB 1.5 billion (about USD 208 million) round in May 2026 that the reporting described as one of the largest single financings in China's synthetic biology sector in recent years. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal name | 微元合成生物技术（北京）有限公司, established 2021-12-08 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) |
| Founder | Liu Bo (刘波), legal representative; a graduate of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195) |
| Headquarters | Changping District, Beijing; production and R&D bases in Qinhuangdao, Hebei [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195) |
| Sector | AI-empowered synthetic biology and biomanufacturing [2](https://www.medvalley.cn/yiyao/78735.html) |
| Commercialized products | Allulose, lutein, mannitol [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) |
| Largest round | RMB 1.5 billion (≈USD 208 million), May 2026 [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html) |
| Status | Active, independent; latest recorded event the May 2026 financing [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html) |
## History and founding
Business registration records show the legal entity was established on 8 December 2021, with Liu Bo as legal representative, registered at Room C223-4, Building 2, 9 Yike Road, Life Science Park, Changping District, Beijing. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) Directory data states the founder graduated from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; this detail rests on a single profile source. [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195)
Early capital came quickly: an angel round of nearly RMB 100 million closed on 30 May 2022 from 经纬创投, 博远资本, 河南投资集团, 险峰长青, and 红什资本. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) Two Pre-A rounds followed in 2023: one in July and a Pre-A+ of tens of millions of yuan in August 2023 from 经纬创投 and 北京协同创新研究院. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) By 2023 roughly one third of the R&D team held doctorates from CAS, Tsinghua, and other institutions (directory data). [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195)
## Products, technology and services
The company organizes its business into six application areas: human nutrition and health, animal nutrition and health, pharmaceutical raw materials, personal care, agricultural planting and protection, and bulk bio-based materials. [6](http://www.microcyto.cn/) In bulk materials it proposes non-grain feedstock routes that use waste oils, methanol, and mixed waste sugars, redirecting multiple carbon sources through metabolic network reconstruction toward the same bulk platform compound. [6](http://www.microcyto.cn/)
**Commercialized products** include allulose, lutein, and mannitol, which the company says it has taken through R&D and industrialization for human and animal nutrition. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) Its allulose process uses the patented strain AS10 to convert glucose or sucrose directly into allulose in one fermentation step, replacing the traditional dual-enzyme isomerization route and lowering production cost, according to 36Kr's reporting. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) Its mannitol is anaerobically fermented and separable into [sodium gluconate](https://www.edgepedia.org/sodium-gluconate), gluconolactone, or calcium gluconate (directory data). [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195)
On the AI side, MicroCyto positions itself differently from fermentation-first peers by publishing in machine learning venues. In January 2026 it jointly published PoseX, an open molecular-docking evaluation platform, with Stanford University, Princeton University, Peking University, and [ByteDance](https://www.edgepedia.org/bytedance) at ICLR 2026, with an invited dedicated talk. [7](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36) Trade press reported the company's claim that PoseX-derived AI enzyme engineering moves directed evolution from multi-round wet-lab screening into a digital process, cutting R&D cycles by over 70% and costs by more than 50%; these are company figures, not independently verified. [2](https://www.medvalley.cn/yiyao/78735.html) The company also says PoseX pinpoints key enzyme–substrate and enzyme–intermediate nodes in metabolic networks using pocket-guided information and pose refinement. [7](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36) A further pipeline builds on methanol: the company reports developing multiple high-efficiency methanol-assimilating strains, targeting bulk amino acids and bio-based material monomers, against a backdrop of Chinese coal-to-methanol capacity above 100 million tonnes (67% of the global total) and roughly 60 million tonnes of planned green methanol capacity. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944)
## Funding by the numbers
| Round | Date | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | 2022-05-30 | near RMB 100M | 经纬创投, 博远资本, 河南投资集团, 险峰长青, 红什资本 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) |
| Pre-A | 2023-07-06 | undisclosed | (per registry table) [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) |
| Pre-A+ | 2023-08-16 | tens of millions RMB | 经纬创投, 北京协同创新研究院 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) |
| Series A | 2024-08-29 | over RMB 300M | 京国瑞投资, 北京市医药健康产业投资基金, 深创投, 河北产业投资引导基金, 顺禧基金, 河南投资集团 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) |
| A+ | 2026-01 | near RMB 300M | 北京市新材料产业投资基金, 北京市医药健康产业投资基金, 建信投资, 中关村资本, 北京未来科学城基金 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) |
| A++ (company: "A+") | 2026-03 | RMB 300M | 河南投资集团汇融基金, individual investor 谭瑞清 [7](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36) • [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) |
| Equity financing | 2026-05 | RMB 1.5 billion (≈USD 208M) | equity: 张其宾, 谭瑞清, 兴银投资; loans: 兴业银行北京分行 [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html) |
Round naming for 2026 is inconsistent between sources: the company calls the March 2026 河南投资集团汇融基金/谭瑞清 round its "A+轮", while trackers label that round "A++轮" and call the January 2026 round the A+. [7](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36) • [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) The May 2026 RMB 1.5 billion round is likewise described differently: TengNews reports a combined structure of equity financing plus long-term bank loans from 兴业银行北京分行, while some trackers record it simply as equity financing. [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html) Some summaries date this round to June 2026; the announcement report is dated 15 May 2026. [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html) The March 2026 round proceeds are earmarked for AI biological computing applications, core algorithm R&D, and deployment in bio-based materials, pharmaceutical intermediates, and industrial enzymes; the January round funds methanol-based bulk product pipelines. [2](https://www.medvalley.cn/yiyao/78735.html) • [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944)
## Business, customers and traction
In July 2025 MicroCyto obtained National Health Commission new-food-ingredient administrative licensing for allulose, becoming the first company in China approved to produce allulose via biological fermentation. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) In August 2025 it signed a strategic cooperation with Cargill covering allulose and other sugar-reduction and functional sugar products across distribution, production collaboration, and scenario co-creation. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944)
Capacity is the stated priority of the 2026 capital. Directory data says the May 2026 funding is planned for the acquisition of Yuxin (豫鑫) and large-scale mass production of several bulk products, though the size of that acquisition is not disclosed elsewhere in the record. [3](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195) The company plans 10,000-tonne-scale capacity construction for multiple core products and says it will bring at least three product lines into large-scale commercial production within two years of the May 2026 round. [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html)
## Status as of September 2026
MicroCyto is active and independent as last recorded: the latest event is the RMB 1.5 billion round announced in May 2026, and no acquisition of the company, IPO, or shutdown has been reported. [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html)
## Recent developments
The trajectory since late 2023 runs from proof of process to industrial scale. In 2024 the company closed a Series A of over RMB 300 million (August 2024) with a strong state-backed investor base and said it was developing non-grain carbon sources and chassis strains for low-cost production of bulk bio-based polymers. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) 2025 brought the regulatory milestone (NHC approval for fermentation-derived allulose, a first in China) and the Cargill partnership. [5](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944) 2026 brought three financings in six months totaling at least RMB 2.1 billion, the PoseX publication at ICLR with academic and industry partners, and a pivot of proceeds toward 10,000-tonne capacity and an acquisition. [1](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692) • [7](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36) • [4](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html)
## References
1. [微元合成 | 项目信息 - 36氪](http://pitchhub.36kr.com/project/1818824050626692)
2. [微元合成完成 3 亿元 A + 轮融资，联合全球顶尖机构发布 AI 生物计算开放平台 PoseX - 医谷网](https://www.medvalley.cn/yiyao/78735.html)
3. [MicroCyto Asset Profile | Preqin](https://www.preqin.com/data/profile/asset/microcyto/482195)
4. [微元合成完成15亿元新一轮融资，加速合成生物学技术产业化落地 - TengNews财经网](https://tengnews.com/a/shezhi/2026/0515/15757.html)
5. [「微元合成」获近3亿元融资，以甲醇为原料、开发大宗生物基产品 | 36氪首发](https://www.36kr.com/p/3624332622119944)
6. [微元合成丨MicroCyto (company homepage)](http://www.microcyto.cn/)
7. [微元合成完成3亿元A+轮融资，联合斯坦福大学等在ICLR2026发布AI生物计算开放合作平台PoseX (MicroCyto press release)](https://www.microcyto.cn/About/show?id=36)
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