Giraffe Bio Raises $6.4M Seed to Lift Copper Recovery at Mines
The biotech startup, led by Orion Industrial Ventures' seed check, grows engineered microbes in bioreactors to make compounds for mines' existing flotation circuits.
Giraffe Bio has raised a $6.4 million seed round led by Orion Industrial Ventures to bring its mineral-specific biomolecule technology out of the lab, according to TechCrunch. BHP Ventures, Twynam, Air Capital, and Baruch Future Ventures also participated in the round.
The company develops mineral-specific biomolecules that it says can help mines recover up to 5% more copper. Rather than adding bacteria to ore, Giraffe Bio grows engineered microbes in a bioreactor to produce bespoke compounds that are inserted into a mine's existing process.
Those compounds are used in a mine's flotation process, and the company is also developing depressors using the same biotech platform.
Giraffe Bio says it is beginning with copper and that its platform can be tailored to other minerals such as gold or silver.
A crowded field for minerals biotech
The company is not alone in applying microbes to mineral extraction. Endolith has developed microbes aimed at heap leaches, Ceibo is working on its own microbial strains, and Transition Metal Solutions has developed prebiotics to boost microbial activity.
Demand-side pressure is part of the backdrop: copper supplies could fall 25% short of demand by 2040, driven by the AI data center boom and economywide electrification. The mining industry has typically boosted production by opening new mines, and only 0.3% of prospective mines pan out.
Quick answers
How much did Giraffe Bio raise?
Giraffe Bio raised a $6.4 million seed round led by Orion Industrial Ventures, with participation from BHP Ventures, Twynam, Air Capital, and Baruch Future Ventures.
What does Giraffe Bio's technology do?
It grows engineered microbes in a bioreactor to produce mineral-specific biomolecules that are inserted into a mine's existing process, starting with the flotation process for copper.
Which minerals is Giraffe Bio targeting?
The company says it is beginning with copper and that its platform can be tailored to other minerals such as gold or silver.