Zymergen

Zymergen was a synthetic biology company founded in 2013 that developed biofacturing processes for materials and chemicals.¹⁶ The company raised over $1.8 billion in private funding and completed an IPO in April 2021, but its flagship product Hyaline failed commercially.⁶¹²¹⁸ Zymergen was acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks in 2022 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023.²⁶¹⁷¹⁸

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
2013	Zymergen was founded by Jed Dean, Joshua Hoffman, and Zach Serber.	16
2014	Zymergen raised a $2 million seed round.	1
2015-06-16	Zymergen raised a Series A round of $36.59 million and a Series A-1 round of $6.63 million.	6
2016-10-10	Zymergen raised a Series B round of $142.35 million.	6
2018-12-13	Zymergen announced over $400 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund.	8
2020-04	Zymergen launched Hyaline, its first commercial product, co-created with Sumitomo Chemical.	1
2020-09-08	Zymergen raised a $300 million Series D round led by Baillie Gifford at a post-money valuation of approximately $2.07 billion.	6
2021-04-22	Zymergen completed its IPO on NASDAQ, raising $500.03 million at an implied valuation of $2.96 billion.	6
2021-05-24	Zymergen held its first earnings call after the IPO and made statements about its sales pipeline that the SEC later alleged were misleading.	18
2021-08	Zymergen disclosed adverse facts about Hyaline, including that it expected no product revenue in 2021, and its CEO resigned; the stock price fell 76%.	18
2021-11	Zymergen announced it was discontinuing all but one of its products, including Hyaline.	18
2023-10-03	Zymergen Inc. and three affiliated companies filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.	17
2026-05-01	Robbins Geller filed a motion for approval of a $125 million settlement in the securities class action against Zymergen and others.	12
2026-06-22	The court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement.	14

Money raised

Zymergen raised a $2 million seed round in 2014.¹ Zymergen raised a $42 million Series A in 2015.¹ Zymergen raised a $130 million Series B in 2016.¹ Zymergen raised a $400 million Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund in 2018.¹ Zymergen raised a $300 million Series D led by Baillie Gifford in September 2020.¹ Zymergen's total raised capital was $574 million as of 2018.¹ Zymergen raised $500.03 million in its IPO at an implied valuation of $2.96 billion.⁶ Zymergen's total funding was $1.84 billion according to Forge.⁶

Investors named in the sources: SoftBank Vision Fund¹⁸, Baillie Gifford¹⁶, Baron Funds⁶, Innovation Endeavors⁶, Mission Bay Capital⁶, Data Collective⁶, Codon Capital⁶, Two Sigma Investments⁶, True Ventures⁶, Threshold Ventures⁶, Obvious Ventures⁶, SoftBank Investment Advisers⁶, Two Sigma Ventures⁶, Tao Capital Partners⁶, Goldman Sachs⁸, Hanwha Asset Management⁸, DCVC (Data Collective)⁸, DFJ⁸, J.P. Morgan¹².

What happened

Zymergen was founded in 2013 by Zach Serber, Josh Hoffman, and Jed Dean.¹ Zymergen was a synthetic biology company that used biology to design, develop, and manufacture products.¹ Zymergen developed innovative films and coatings for electronics, insect repellent, and crop protection products.¹ Zymergen launched Hyaline, a film for electronics applications, in April 2020.¹ Hyaline was the first product co-created with Zymergen and its development partner Sumitomo Chemical Inc.¹

Zymergen raised a $2 million seed round in 2014.¹ Zymergen raised a $42 million Series A in 2015.¹ Zymergen raised a $130 million Series B in 2016.¹ Zymergen raised a $400 million Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund in 2018.¹ Zymergen raised a $300 million Series D led by Baillie Gifford in September 2020.¹

Zymergen's total raised capital was $574 million as of 2018.¹ Zymergen filed confidentially to go public with a $100 million IPO.¹ Zymergen completed its IPO on April 22, 2021, on NASDAQ with ticker ZY.⁶ Zymergen raised $500.03 million in its IPO at an implied valuation of $2.96 billion.⁶ Zymergen was not profitable and did not expect to become profitable for the foreseeable future.¹

In August 2021, Zymergen disclosed that Hyaline production was experiencing issues and its commercial opportunity was smaller than previously claimed.¹² Zymergen announced that it did not expect any product revenue in 2021 and its projections beyond 2022 were uncertain.¹² Zymergen announced its CEO had been terminated and the board was conducting a deep dive into operations.¹² These disclosures caused a significant decline in Zymergen's stock price.¹² In November 2021, Zymergen announced it was discontinuing all but one of its products, including Hyaline.¹⁸

The acquisition was completed in October 2022.¹⁸ On October 3, 2023, Zymergen Inc. and three affiliated companies filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.¹⁷ The SEC charged that Zymergen misled IPO investors about its market potential, revenue prospects, and customer pipeline for Hyaline.¹⁸ Zymergen agreed to pay a $30 million civil penalty to settle the SEC charges.¹⁸ A securities class action lawsuit was filed against Zymergen and others in August 2021.¹²

The class action alleged that Zymergen's Registration Statement misrepresented and omitted material facts about Hyaline.¹² In May 2026, Robbins Geller filed a motion for approval of a $125 million settlement in the class action.¹² The settlement is pending court approval.¹² The settlement class includes investors who purchased Zymergen common stock pursuant or traceable to the April 2021 IPO.¹⁴ The court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement on June 22, 2026.¹⁴

A final settlement hearing is scheduled for October 13, 2026.¹⁴ The deadline to file a claim in the settlement is October 11, 2026.¹⁴ Zymergen's employees numbered over 800 at some point.⁹ Zymergen opened a Seattle office, signaling growth plans.⁵ Zymergen was acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks for $300 million according to Forbes.⁶

Zymergen's stock price fell 76% after the August 2021 disclosures.¹⁸ Zymergen's CEO resigned in August 2021.¹⁸ Zymergen's board of directors conducted a deep dive into the company's operations.¹² Zymergen's Hyaline product was discontinued in November 2021.¹⁸ Zymergen's bankruptcy filing was under Chapter 11.¹⁷

Zymergen's SEC settlement included a $30 million civil penalty.¹⁸ Zymergen's class action settlement amount was $125 million.¹² Zymergen's IPO raised approximately $530 million according to the SEC.¹⁸ Zymergen's market opportunity estimate for Hyaline in the S-1 was over $1 billion in 2020.¹⁸ Zymergen's internal sales team calculated the total display market opportunity for Hyaline in 2021 as approximately $42 million to $100 million.¹⁸

Zymergen's finance team provided revenue projections to analysts that were 60-70% lower than management's prior projections for 2021-2023.¹⁸ Zymergen's finance team increased the sales team's projections for 2022-2025 by approximately $740 million.¹⁸ Zymergen described its revenue projections to analysts as conservative.¹⁸ Zymergen's first quarter post-IPO earnings call included statements that the SEC alleged were misleading.¹⁸ Zymergen's internal reports before the earnings call reflected growing concern about the sales pipeline.¹⁸

Zymergen's customers were delaying purchases or dropping out of the process.¹⁸ Zymergen's current market for Hyaline was very small according to internal documentation.¹⁸ Zymergen's disclosure review process did not reasonably reflect adverse information.¹⁸ Zymergen's public statements created a misleading positive impression of Hyaline's customer pipeline.¹⁸ Zymergen's CEO was terminated according to the class action complaint.¹²

Zymergen's board of directors was conducting a deep dive into operations.¹² Zymergen's stock price declined significantly after the disclosures.¹² Zymergen's investors who purchased shares in the IPO were damaged.¹² Zymergen's class action settlement includes former officers and directors, underwriters, and venture capital funds.¹² Zymergen's underwriters included J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs.¹²

Zymergen's venture capital funds included Softbank.¹² Zymergen's settlement is one of the largest IPO-related securities class action recoveries in the Northern District of California.¹² Zymergen's motions to dismiss were largely denied as to core claims.¹² Zymergen's case proceeded through class certification and amendments to pleadings.¹² Zymergen's lead plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller attorneys.¹²

Zymergen's SEC order found that the company violated antifraud provisions of federal securities laws.¹⁵ Zymergen agreed to cooperate with the SEC.¹⁸ Zymergen's bankruptcy filing included three affiliated companies.¹⁷ Zymergen's bankruptcy was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court.¹⁷ Zymergen's ultimate liquidation followed its bankruptcy.¹⁸

Zymergen's stock price fell 76% after the August 2021 disclosures.¹⁸ Zymergen's CEO resigned in August 2021.¹⁸ Zymergen's board of directors conducted a deep dive into the company's operations.¹² Zymergen's Hyaline product was discontinued in November 2021.¹⁸ Zymergen's bankruptcy filing was under Chapter 11.¹⁷

Zymergen's SEC settlement included a $30 million civil penalty.¹⁸ Zymergen's class action settlement amount was $125 million.¹² Zymergen's IPO raised approximately $530 million according to the SEC.¹⁸ Zymergen's market opportunity estimate for Hyaline in the S-1 was over $1 billion in 2020.¹⁸ Zymergen's internal sales team calculated the total display market opportunity for Hyaline in 2021 as approximately $42 million to $100 million.¹⁸

Zymergen's finance team provided revenue projections to analysts that were 60-70% lower than management's prior projections for 2021-2023.¹⁸ Zymergen's finance team increased the sales team's projections for 2022-2025 by approximately $740 million.¹⁸ Zymergen described its revenue projections to analysts as conservative.¹⁸ Zymergen's first quarter post-IPO earnings call included statements that the SEC alleged were misleading.¹⁸ Zymergen's internal reports before the earnings call reflected growing concern about the sales pipeline.¹⁸

Zymergen's customers were delaying purchases or dropping out of the process.¹⁸ Zymergen's current market for Hyaline was very small according to internal documentation.¹⁸ Zymergen's disclosure review process did not reasonably reflect adverse information.¹⁸ Zymergen's public statements created a misleading positive impression of Hyaline's customer pipeline.¹⁸ Zymergen's CEO was terminated according to the class action complaint.¹²

Zymergen's board of directors was conducting a deep dive into operations.¹² Zymergen's stock price declined significantly after the disclosures.¹² Zymergen's investors who purchased shares in the IPO were damaged.¹² Zymergen's class action settlement includes former officers and directors, underwriters, and venture capital funds.¹² Zymergen's underwriters included J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs.¹²

Zymergen's venture capital funds included Softbank.¹² Zymergen's settlement is one of the largest IPO-related securities class action recoveries in the Northern District of California.¹² Zymergen's motions to dismiss were largely denied as to core claims.¹² Zymergen's case proceeded through class certification and amendments to pleadings.¹² Zymergen's lead plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller attorneys.¹²

Zymergen's SEC order found that the company violated antifraud provisions of federal securities laws.¹⁵ Zymergen agreed to cooperate with the SEC.¹⁸ Zymergen's bankruptcy filing included three affiliated companies.¹⁷ Zymergen's bankruptcy was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court.¹⁷ Zymergen's ultimate liquidation followed its bankruptcy.¹⁸

Legal outcomes

• chargedThe SEC charged Zymergen with misleading IPO investors about its market potential, revenue prospects, and customer pipeline for Hyaline.¹⁸
• settledZymergen agreed to pay a $30 million civil penalty to settle the SEC charges.¹⁸
• filedA securities class action lawsuit was filed against Zymergen and others in August 2021.¹²
• filedThe class action alleged that Zymergen's Registration Statement misrepresented and omitted material facts about Hyaline.¹²
• pendingIn May 2026, Robbins Geller filed a motion for approval of a $125 million settlement in the class action.¹²
• pendingThe court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement on June 22, 2026.¹⁴
• pendingA final settlement hearing is scheduled for October 13, 2026.¹⁴

Sources

1. Zymergen: Synthetic Biology Company Is Going Public Soon, Market Realist, 2021-03-26
2. Synthetic Biology Startup Landscape, New Market Pitch, Aug 25, 20
4. San Francisco Biotech News, bizjournals.com
5. All Stories – Page 763 of 1827 – GeekWire, GeekWire
6. Zymergen IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com
8. Zymergen Announces $400 Million in Series C Funding led by the SoftBank Vision Fund, synbiobeta.com, Dec 13, 20
9. Zymergen transforms synthetic biology industry with $300M Series C at $3.2B valuation, salestools.io, 2025-08-06
12. Robbins Geller Secures $125 Million Settlement with Underwriter Banks and Venture Capital Funds in Securities Class Action, rgrdlaw.com
14. Zymergen Inc. Securities Fraud Class Action | New Cases | Kessler Topaz, Kessler Topaz
15. SEC Charges Zymergen Inc. With Misleading IPO Investors ..., sec.gov, Sep 18, 20
17. Epiq 11, dm.epiq11.com
18. SEC charges Zymergen for “unsupported hype” in its IPO, Cooley PubCo, 2024-09-17

How this case file was put together

Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.

If a fact on this page is wrong, use "Report an error" below and attach the record that shows the correct fact. Every report is reviewed by a person before anything changes, and a corrected page says when it was last corrected.

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