Funding profile · Industrial biotechnology

Solugen

Four Form D filings report $425.9 million sold between 2018 and 2021. Press accounts put the total above $640 million. The gap is one announced round with no filing, plus a federal loan guarantee committed but not shown to close.

$425.9MEquity sold across four Form D filings, 2018 to 2021
$356.9MSold in the Series C, 16 investors, first sale Sep 2, 2021
$213.6MDOE loan guarantee, conditional commitment Jun 13, 2024
$15.8MMinnesota state support: Forward Fund plus Job Creation Fund

Data as of September 22, 2026. Company-reported figures are labeled.

Rounds at a glance

When Round Amount Investors Source
2017 Y Combinator, Winter 2017 Not disclosed Y Combinator YC data
Oct 2018 Equity, first sale Oct 17, 2018 $18,771,998 50 investors. Brian Singerman of Founders Fund first invested 2017 Form D
Apr 2019 Equity, first sale Apr 23, 2019 $20,000,001 14 investors Form D
Mar 2020 Equity, first sale Mar 20, 2020 $30,147,990 17 investors. Forbes names Founders Fund and Valor Equity, at a $250M valuation Form D
Sep 2021 Series C, first sale Sep 2, 2021 $356,949,936 filed; $357M announced 16 investors. Led by GIC and Baillie Gifford, with Temasek, BlackRock affiliates, Carbon Direct, Refactor, Fifty Years Form D and release
Oct 2022 Series D, reported $200M reported; no Form D found Reported as led by Kinnevik, Lowercarbon Capital and Refactor Reported, not filed
Jun 2024 DOE loan guarantee, conditional $213.6M US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, to Bioforge Marshall LLC Public record
2024 State support, Minnesota $15.76M Minnesota Forward Fund $15M; DEED Job Creation Fund $760,000 Public record

What the filings show

Solugen, Inc. · Form D · filed Oct 19, 2021

First sale
Sep 2, 2021
Offered
$356,949,936 equity
Sold
$356,949,936 · $0 remaining
Investors
16 · average about $22.3 million
Exemption
Rule 506(b)
Related persons
Gaurab Chakrabarti (executive officer, director); Sean Hunt (executive officer, director); Seth Bannon (director); Brian Singerman (director)
Filing
SEC EDGAR, CIK 0001756965

Solugen, Inc. · Form D · filed Jul 9, 2020

First sale
Mar 20, 2020
Offered
$30,147,990 equity
Sold
$30,147,990 · $0 remaining
Investors
17 · average about $1.77 million
Exemption
Rule 506(b)
Related persons
Chakrabarti, Hunt, Bannon, Singerman
Filing
SEC EDGAR, CIK 0001756965

Solugen, Inc. · Form D · filed May 24, 2019

First sale
Apr 23, 2019
Offered
$20,000,001 equity
Sold
$20,000,001 · $0 remaining
Investors
14 · average about $1.43 million
Exemption
Rule 506(b)
Related persons
Chakrabarti, Hunt, Bannon, Singerman
Filing
SEC EDGAR, CIK 0001756965

Solugen, Inc. · Form D · filed Nov 1, 2018

First sale
Oct 17, 2018
Offered
$18,771,998 equity
Sold
$18,771,998 · $0 remaining
Investors
50 · average about $375,000
Exemption
Rule 506(b)
Related persons
Chakrabarti, Hunt, Bannon. Singerman is not listed on this filing.
Filing
SEC EDGAR, CIK 0001756965

Reading the filings

  1. Announced and filed match to five figures.The September 2021 release said $357 million. The Form D reports $356,949,936 sold to 16 investors, about $22.3 million each. That is sovereign and crossover money, not a venture syndicate.
  2. The money moved before the press release.First sale on the Series C was September 2, 2021. The announcement came September 9 and the Form D on October 19.
  3. The investor count collapsed after 2018.Fifty investors at about $375,000 each, then 14, 17 and 16, at averages of $1.43 million, $1.77 million and $22.3 million. The angel base gave way to institutions in one step.
  4. Roughly $214 million of announced capital has no Form D.Filings total $425,869,925 through 2021 against press figures above $640 million. The difference is close to the $200 million round reported for October 2022, which has no Form D on EDGAR. A company raising under Section 4(a)(2) rather than Regulation D files none, so the gap does not prove the round did not happen.
  5. The stated valuations do not agree.Chakrabarti said $1.8 billion on a podcast recorded September 10, 2021. InnovationMap that week reported $1.5 billion pre-money, attributed to Axios. A later analysis put the October 2022 round post-money at $2 billion. None are filed numbers.
  6. The federal $213.6 million is committed, not drawn.The June 2024 instrument is a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to a subsidiary, Bioforge Marshall LLC, and the company release lists conditions still to be met. Several outlets and the Minnesota governor’s office called it a loan already secured. No record of closing was found as of September 22, 2026.
  7. Outside vehicles show up around the name.Linqto Liquidshares LLC, which packages private company shares for accredited buyers, filed Form D notices on February 6 and December 17, 2024 that reference Solugen. Those are secondary vehicles, not company raises, and none of that money reaches the balance sheet.

Commercial signals

Signal Detail Source type
Capacity Bioforge Houston online 2021, about 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes a year. Bioforge Marshall designed for up to 120 kilotonnes a year, target fall 2025. Public record
Feedstock ADM dextrose by two dedicated pipelines from the adjacent Marshall complex, about 150 million pounds a year at full rate. Company and partner
Offtake Sasol Chemicals evaluation agreement Oct 2023. Kurita America collaboration Jul 2024, with a Tower NG line using a Solugen inhibitor. Diamond Wipes peroxide supply since 2017. Partner-stated
Revenue $12 million in 2019 per Forbes. Described as on pace for over $100 million in 2022. No audited figures. Company-stated
Healthcare exposure None regulated. No FDA record, no trials, no NIH or NSF awards. Personal care and wipes are end markets, not medical products. Not found
Headcount About 70 in 2020, about 200 in mid 2024 per CNBC, over 230 per Manufacturing Dive the same month. Independent

What to watch

  • A Form D or any filing covering the reported October 2022 round.
  • Evidence the DOE loan guarantee closed, was funded, or was withdrawn.
  • Any 2026 filing under CIK 0001756965. The last one is from 2021.
  • First production and nameplate throughput at Bioforge Marshall.
  • Whether Kinnevik, a listed holder, marks the position up or down.

The Solugen story on Healthcare DiscoveryHealthcare Discovery

Related companies

  • Culture Biosciences: Shared investor: Refactor. A cloud lab that ran other companies’ fermentation for them, now selling the bioreactor itself through Cytiva
  • 64x Bio: Shared investor: Refactor. A Harvard spinout that engineers the cells which manufacture viral vectors, rather than the therapies those vectors carry
  • Current Foods: Shared investor: Founders Fund. A San Francisco startup that built raw, sushi grade plant based tuna and salmon, won a spot on TIME's 2021 Best Inventions list, and was sold to Wicked Kitchen in an all
  • Enzyme: Shared investor: Refactor. Cloud quality management software built so small life science companies could survive an FDA inspection without hiring a consulting firm

Sources

  1. Public recordForm D, Solugen, Inc., CIK 0001756965, filed Nov 1, 2018SEC
  2. Public recordForm D, Solugen, Inc., filed May 24, 2019SEC
  3. Public recordForm D, Solugen, Inc., filed Jul 9, 2020SEC
  4. Public recordForm D, Solugen, Inc., filed Oct 19, 2021SEC
  5. Public recordDOE/EA-2246, Solugen, Inc., Bioforge Marshall ProjectUS Department of Energy · Nov 7, 2024
  6. Public recordGovernor Walz announces $213 million to build sustainable biomanufacturing facility in MarshallOffice of the Governor of Minnesota · Jun 13, 2024
  7. IndependentHouston chemicals company raises $357M, claims unicorn statusInnovationMap, John Egan · Sep 10, 2021
  8. IndependentSolugen scores $214 million loan from DOE to make chemicals from corn sugar not petroleumCNBC, Lora Kolodny · Jun 13, 2024
  9. InterviewEpisode 175: Gaurab Chakrabarti and Sean Hunt, SolugenMy Climate Journey · recorded Sep 10, 2021
  10. CompanySolugen secures conditional commitment for $213.6M DOE loan guaranteeSolugen · Jun 13, 2024

Compiled from SEC, Department of Energy, State of Minnesota and other public records as of September 22, 2026. Form D notices report offerings under Regulation D; amounts reflect the filing date. Healthcare Venture Capital Fund holds no position in Solugen. This page is not an offer to sell or a recommendation to buy any security.