Melazyme Raises $2M Seed Round for Fermentation-Derived Proteins

Funding Announcement

Utah-based precision fermentation startup Melazyme raised US$2 million in a seed round on May 14, according to the company. The round was led by SeaX Ventures, with Stellaris Venture Partners and Plug and Play Ventures also participating to support the company's platform development, production scaling, and early commercial deployments.

Company Background and Product Focus

Melazyme was founded in 2025 by former Perfect Day executives Perumal Gandhi and Bonney Oommen. The company is developing fermentation-derived specialty proteins, including brazzein and melanin.

Melazyme is currently working with commercial partners on brazzein. The company is focusing its near-term sales efforts on cosmetics, where melanin can be used for UV protection and pigmentation. Beyond cosmetics, Melazyme identified potential applications for melanin in coatings, filtration, environmental remediation, and metal recovery.

Market Context and Industry Drivers

According to market data cited in the source, global melanin consumption reached approximately 14,200 metric tons in 2024, with the market valued at US$19.99 million in 2025. The precision fermentation approach addresses a documented supply challenge: approximately 32% of melanin extraction facilities faced shortages of microbial biomass or fungal strains in 2024.

Synthetic melanin production has grown to meet demand, accounting for an estimated 40% of global production volume in 2024. Research into recombinant microbial systems—genetically engineered microorganisms designed to produce target compounds—has demonstrated maximal yields of 7.57 g/L.

Broader Applications and Future Potential

Beyond cosmetics, melanin is being tested in electronics and biomedical devices. Scientific literature documents melanin's ability to absorb a wide spectrum of radiation. Researchers are exploring melanin for environmental remediation applications, where it can bind heavy metals, and for medical uses such as photoacoustic imaging agents—materials that create images by converting light into sound waves.

If precision fermentation companies such as Melazyme scale production successfully, melanin could transition from a scarce specialty chemical into a more widely available building block for the bioeconomy—the part of the economy built around biological materials and processes.