Bluestem Biosciences, a renewable chemicals company maximizing agriculture and energy infrastructure through synthetic biology, announced a pre-seed financing round of $5 million. Zero Infinity Partners led the round including participation from Matt Vining, CEO of Navigator CO2 Ventures, Invest Nebraska, angel investor Robert Sali, and Bluestem Co-Founder & CEO Billy Hagstrom.
Founded in January 2022, Bluestem is focused on the sustainable bio-production of chemicals through anaerobic fermentation with an identified path toward industrial scale. Bluestem’s mission of diversifying and decarbonizing the chemical industry begins with purpose built biology for existing infrastructure.
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“Bluestem’s approach on decarbonizing the petrochemical industry represents a large opportunity for Bluestem and our strategic partners,” said Billy Hagstrom. “Through our recent patent application and accomplishments year-to-date, Bluestem and our growing team are well positioned to transform infrastructure, beginning in the Midwest.”
The pre-seed funding will be used to build a leading team and product discovery pipeline powered by Bluestem’s proprietary digital biology architecture. This internally developed technology will allow Bluestem to accelerate discovery through an integration of existing and custom tools, focused on anaerobic bioproduction.
“Digital biology is a game-changer and foundational to Bluestem’s differentiated approach,” said Tyler Autera Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer. “By leveraging these tools, Bluestem is augmenting discovery to accelerate science and our path to commercialization.”
John Kwaak, Founder & Managing Partner at Zero Infinity Partners, said, “Bluestem represents a tremendous opportunity to decarbonize the economy, transform infrastructure, and reimagine local agricultural economies to the advantage of all stakeholders. Our investment in Bluestem is very exciting for us and our investors, as we are all aligned on more sustainable infrastructure solutions.”
“Carbon dioxide storage and utilization are mission critical for Navigator and the foundation of our Heartland Greenway project,” said Matt Vining, CEO at Navigator CO2 Ventures. “Bluestem’s technology and vision represent how biology can transform existing infrastructure for the benefit of decarbonization and help develop future markets for carbon. As a fellow Omaha-based company, we are proud to collaborate with Billy, Tyler, and Bluestem’s team to accelerate decarbonization through anaerobic fermentation while exploring ways to commercialize CO2 consumption using Navigator’s platform,” said Matt Vining.