First Imagine! has invested in Zymofix, the Belgian industrial biotechnology company behind Zyft, a next-generation solid-state fermentation and formulation platform. First Imagine! led the Series A round, with participation from existing investors VP Capital, HTGF and The Nest Family Office.
The investment supports Zymofix’s move from pilot-scale validation to industrial production. The company has selected Deinze, Belgium, for its first flagship manufacturing facility, and operations will begin moving to the site in the coming months.
A manufacturing route for microorganisms
Many beneficial microorganisms, however, are poorly suited to conventional liquid fermentation, which makes them difficult to produce reliably and at commercial volumes.
Zyft addresses this by growing living microorganisms on solid substrates in a controlled, scalable process that combines fermentation and formulation. More than 170 strains of bacteria, fungi and yeasts have been tested on the platform.
Zymofix works as a manufacturing partner rather than developing its own strains.
It supports customers from process development through fermentation, formulation and scale-up. The company already works with more than 15 customers, most of them multinational agricultural-input companies, on biostimulants, biofertilisers and biocontrol products, with further opportunities in bioremediation and industrial applications.
From pilot to plant
Founded in 2022, Zymofix has grown to around 35 people and expects to reach about 60 by the end of 2027.
Boris Dorin, Partner at First Imagine!, said: “Microbial products only reach the market if someone can manufacture them reliably, at industrial volumes and at a price the market will pay, and manufacturing is exactly where Europe is thinnest. Zymofix has done the hard part: it has taken solid-state fermentation from a laboratory technique to a validated platform that industrial customers already depend on. Building that layer is what First Imagine! is here to do, and we intend to stay with this company well past the opening of a first plant.”
Why Zymofix fits our thesis
First Imagine! invests in AdapTech: scalable technologies that increase the resilience, autonomy and productivity of critical systems. Zymofix builds European manufacturing capacity for the biological inputs that agriculture increasingly depends on, using agricultural residues as feedstock. It combines deep technology, a real industrial bottleneck and proven customer demand.
We are delighted to welcome Zymofix to our portfolio and to work alongside VP Capital, HTGF and The Nest Family Office in supporting the team through its next phase of growth.
Read Zymofix’s full announcement here.