baCta Raises €7M to Build AI-Powered Molecular Factories for Sustainable Industrial Ingredients

baCta has announced a €7 million seed round led by LocalGlobe and daphni to accelerate its mission of transforming microorganisms into programmable factories. The Paris-based company specializes in the bioproduction of industrial ingredients using a proprietary platform that merges synthetic biology with generative AI. This funding will support the industrial scale-up of astaxanthin and the expansion of their baCtaForge technology.

The core of their innovation lies in the baCtaForge platform, which utilizes a genome-to-factory AI model to design optimized microbial strains. Unlike traditional methods that rely on trial-and-error, baCta uses bio-based reinforcement learning to explore genomic pathways that were previously considered inaccessible. This approach significantly reduces the time and cost required to develop high-yield strains for commercial use.

The startup is first targeting the €1 billion astaxanthin market, a potent antioxidant used in cosmetics, nutrition, and animal feed. Most current production relies on petrochemical synthesis or expensive natural extraction from microalgae. By using an engineered yeast strain, baCta aims to provide a nature-identical replacement that offers high quality at a price point competitive with synthetic versions.

With the new capital, the company plans to validate its industrial processes through a strategic partnership with a French industrial operator. This collaboration will help the team reach commercial scale by 2027 while achieving positive unit economics as early as 2026. The goal is to create a resilient supply chain that is no longer vulnerable to geopolitical or climate-related disruptions.

Investors have highlighted the technical depth of the team, which includes founders from MistralAI as strategic backers. Remus Brett of LocalGlobe stated that baCta represents a unique convergence of deep biological data and generative AI. This backing suggests that the platform is viewed as a foundational engine for the next generation of the global bio-economy. CEO Mathieu Nohet believes this technology can complete the agricultural revolution by achieving total mastery over living microorganisms. The long-term vision involves using bacteria and yeast to synthesize essential materials and medicines at every scale. By replacing dirty supply chains with biological factories, baCta hopes to usher in an era of sustainable abundance for humanity.