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"Amyris has not only a break-through technology but a clearly definedstrategy to commercialize a promising slate of next-generation biofuels thatcould have a profound impact on the transportation market," said R. ThomasGoodrich at DAG Ventures. "We are investing with strong confidence in whatAmyris is creating as well as the management and scientific team the companyis putting in place to execute on its vision."
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"No-compromise transportation fuels derived from renewable sources holdsubstantial promise for meeting the tremendous need for alternative energysources in the future," said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. "We have alreadysucceeded in creating these biofuels in our lab. We are delighted with thestrong interest in our Series B funding which will enable us to continue theresearch and scale-up of our technology and to implement our business modelas the first biofuels company to go from production to customer."
Amyris pioneered a unique technology platform that allows it to use avariety of environmentally-friendly renewable feedstocks including sugarcane,corn and cellulose, to produce high-value compounds. This technology has beenproven in Amyris' earlier non-profit project, funded through a grant to theInstitute for One World Health from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, toreduce the production cost of artemisinin-based anti-malarial drugs. Usingthe same technology platform, Amyris is now developing capabilities to producea slate of high-performing hydrocarbon transportation biofuels that areenvironmentally friendly, cost- effective, and compatible with current enginesand distribution infrastructure.
"Amyris is designing better biofuels from designer bugs," said John Doerr,partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "This is a big deal becauseAmyris' cost competitive biofuels will work with existing engines withoutcompromising performance and will have a lower carbon footprint. Thisfinancing will help Amyris scale with speed."
Amyris expects to close the second tranche of its Series B financing by theend of 2007.
About Amyris Biotechnologies
Amyris Biotechnologies (www.amyrisbiotech.com) is applying its proprietary,breakthrough technology to address major global health and energy challenges.Amyris' technology is used to produce high-value compounds to enable theproduction of lower cost artemisinin-based anti-malarial drugs and a slate ofrenewable hydrocarbon biofuels which are expected to be cost-effective andcompatible with existing engines and distribution infrastructure. Based inEmeryville, CA, Amyris is a privately-held venture backed company whoseinvestors include DAG Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield &Byers and TPG Ventures.
SOURCE Amyris Biotechnologies