Loopworm’s breakthrough in sustainable protein production is among the stellar examples of how Indian startups are building next-generation manufacturing platforms that will transform healthcare, veterinary science, and biotechnology worldwide!
What is the news?
- Loopworm, founded in 2019 by IIT-Roorkee alumni Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, has raised $3.25 million in pre-Series A funding co-led by WaterBridge Ventures and Japanese venture capital firm ENRISSION INDIA CAPITAL, following a previous $3.4 million seed round.
- The startup has developed a revolutionary silkworm-based recombinant protein production platform that uses silkworms as “living bioreactors” to produce complex proteins, replacing expensive stainless-steel fermenters and dramatically changing the economics of protein manufacturing.
Why is it interesting?
- This is manufacturing innovation at an industrial scale. Loopworm operates a 6,000-tonne-per-year insect processing facility in Bengaluru, one of Asia’s largest, supplying insect-derived proteins and lipids across Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. Their reactor-free approach fundamentally disrupts traditional biomanufacturing constraints around expensive infrastructure and slow scalability.
- With proven technology for expressing antigens, growth factors, and complex proteins within silkworm pupae, they’re targeting diagnostics, animal vaccines, and biotechnology applications with faster go-to-market timelines due to lower regulatory hurdles compared to traditional methods.
- With biomanufacturing costs and scalability being critical industry bottlenecks, their platform addresses fundamental infrastructure modernization needs in the rapidly growing biotechnology sector.
Read more: Biotechnology startup Loopworm raises $3.25 million in a pre-Series A funding round