Hello,
The year feels it only just started, yet somehow it’s almost June. This year we’ll be running Basecamp 9 and Basecamp 10 - double digits, what a milestone! It’s a great moment to look back at how far biotope has come, and even more exciting to look ahead at the companies and ideas we’ll be working with next.
Let’s start with some exciting news! We were selected (second year in a row) as one of Europe’s Leading Startup Hubs, recognised by Sifted & the Financial Times, and ranked first in the Food & Agriculture category. Not bad for one of the youngest hubs in the entire ranking!
🌱 Spotlight: Cohort 9
Time flies when you’re having fun
Our latest basecamp took place at the beginning of May at the iconic Publika in Ghent. We welcomed a new group of founders for another intense week of science, business building, and community.
Meet the 11 companies who joined us:
Wren Biosciences (DK) - Better milk safety testing
GreenBioNourish (SW) - Food fortification solutions to improve nutrition
Kinva Bio (UK) - Stronger antioxidants for skincare
Dahlia Biotech (DE) - Renewable chemicals for a net-zero future
Sequinnova (UK) - Sustainable sparkle for a more circular fashion industry
BeCaps (AR) - Stable biologicals for farmers via spray-dried microcapsules
MicroIN (AR) - Bioinspired microencapsulation
ProEvo (DE) - AI-powered protein engineering for industrially viable enzymes
Enzyferm (NO) - Multi-strain fermentation for better yields and flavour
Solubind (DE) - Protein-based metal extraction from industrial waste
Bloom Biotech (BE) - Sustainable leather alternative with microalgae
The cohort spans a wide range of applications from food and cosmetics to materials, industry, and agriculture - all united by a strong scientific foundation and a clear ambition to bring impactful solutions to market.
🧳 Event Season
Will we see you on the road? The team will be attending Hello Tomorrow, the EIC Summit, EIT Next Bite Satellite and TechBBQ over the next few months - it’s going to be a busy schedule. If you’ll be at any of these events and would like to meet in person, give us a shout.
Peter at Expo West in January
🔥 Portfolio Highlights
Zymofix (BE): and Bayer successfully validated Zymofix’s fermentation tech for scalable production of microbial crop protection strains.
Bugbiome (UK): kicked off their first US greenhouse trial for tackling aphid infestations in lettuces, marking a major milestone as their lead asset begins validation overseas!
B-COS (BE): secured additional funding from AIF and VP Capital to unlock next generation bioactives through precision fermentation.
🏆 Biotope in numbers
We don’t share stats very often, but with Basecamp 10 around the corner it felt like a good moment to take stock: across 8 Basecamps, we’ve made 19 investments, 75% with mixed founding teams - and since joining Biotope, our companies have grown by 60+ FTEs and raised €37M, including 3 EIC winners. Not bad for a few cohorts 😉
Next up, our autumn newsletter will share our latest investments from this basecamp - just as we start gearing up for autumn and (somehow) our 10th Basecamp already. Until then :)