Amyris, Inc.

Amyris, Inc. is a synthetic biotechnology and renewable chemical company headquartered in Emeryville, California. Amyris serves the specialty and performance chemicals, flavors and fragrances, cosmetics ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals markets.

History
Amyris was founded in 2003. The company owns three brands, Biossance and Pipette, for beauty and skincare, and Purecane, a sugar substitute. The company went public on NASDAQ on September 28, 2010 (AMRS).

In November 2011, Amyris acquired Lansing, Michigan-based renewable chemicals and products company, Draths Corporation, for $7 million in stock. ATEL Capital Group acquired a stake in Amyris in December 2011. In January 2016, the company received an investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Strategic Innovation Fund to support the development of antimalarial medication based on semi-synthetic artemisinin. In April 2019, the company raised $34-million in private placement of its common stock and warrants. The funding round was led by Foris Ventures and Dr. Wei-wu He, General Partner of Emerging Technology Partners, LLC, a life sciences-focused venture fund.

Biossance, the skincare brand from Amyris, was recognized as Digital Innovator of the Year at the WWD Beauty Inc Awards in 2019.

In 2020, Amyris received Bonsucro's Chain of Custody Certification, ensuring that the sustainability claims along the sugarcane supply chain are traceable from farmer to end user. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company collaborated with the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) to advance a novel ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccine platform, including accelerating the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

On August 9, 2023, Amyris filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it will shut down its consumer brands amongst selling itself. The company was delisted from Nasdaq and added to the OTC Markets.