Ferment

Ferment

Ferment is a venture creation studio and venture capital firm based in Santa Monica, California, founded in 2021. It concepts, incubates, and launches new companies that use programmed and synthetic biology to solve targeted problems across consumer and industrial markets, including food & nutrition, industrials & waste, materials, consumer health, energy, and agriculture. Ferment brings together tested company-building models, corporate strategic partners, and access to world-leading biotechnology platforms such as Ginkgo to help visionary founders rapidly translate biology into successful product companies. The firm has made 11 investments, including a Seed VC-II investment in Pegasus Materials on November 20, 2025. Notable portfolio companies include Arcaea, a biology-first beauty and personal care company partnered with brands such as Chanel and Olaplex; Verb Biotics, a consumer probiotics company for human nutrition; Ayana Bio, which uses synthetic biology and process chemistry to produce plant bioactives; and Allonnia, focused on industrial waste remediation and upcycling. Ferment partners closely with entrepreneurs and CEOs to fund and build companies from concept through launch, leveraging biotechnology to address performance, sustainability, and health challenges.