Solazyme, a renewable oil production company, announced earlier this week that it has raised $52 million in its Series D financing round. Braemar Energy Ventures and new investor Morgan Stanley are leading the round with all major existing investors from previous rounds participating, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, The Roda Group, Harris and Harris Group, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Zygote Ventures. Existing strategic investors CTTV Investments LLC, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, and San-Ei Gen, a major Japanese manufacturer and distributor of food ingredients, also participated.
"Our technology and commercialization plans are progressing rapidly. We are executing against multiple partnerships with global industry leaders and the U.S. Department of Defense on a rapid path to commercialization," said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme. "The strong support from our current investors in the Series D is indicative of our ability to exceed milestones, including the production of renewable oil for multiple applications at large scale."
Solazyme, founded in 2003 and headquartered in South San Francisco, uses microbial fermentation to produce renewable oil that can be used for clean and scalable fuels, chemicals, nutritional food ingredients, and health and wellness products. The following video provides an overview of the company: