DAB.bio secures funding for its commercialization phase
28 October 2025
DAB.bio, a technology company specialized in cost-advantaged and large-scale fermentation, today announced the successful closing of an investment round led by Navus Ventures, with participation from Capricorn Partners and existing investors FORWARD.one, Innovation Quarter and Invest-NL. The investment will enable DAB.bio to build on its first commercial successes and set the stage for a series A funding round.
A Disruptive Manufacturing Technology
DAB.bio is transforming industrial biomanufacturing with its FAST™ platform technology. The patented FAST™ technology continuously removes product from the fermenter, while keeping the microbial biomass inside. The gravity-based technology is capex efficient and robust, as it does not need hard or expensive to operate membranes, centrifuges or external loops. It is therefore disruptive for manufacturing at industrial scale, and addresses the most significant impediment to large-scale biomanufacturing: product costs.
DAB.bio’s FAST™ platform enables cost-competitive manufacturing of chemicals, fuels and proteins from renewable sources. DAB.bio aims to accelerate the transition to a renewable carbon economy, whilst reducing undesired emissions and impacts from conventional production processes in the chemical and food/feed
industries.
Eric van der Meer, Chief Executive Officer of DAB.bio:
"We are extremely pleased with the support from our new and existing investors. The market for industrial biotechnology is very challenging, and we regard their investment at this stage as a very strong endorsement of the quality of the team and the potential of our products. We have a strong pipeline, and have demonstrated the significant cost-reducing and at times enabling effect of continuous fermentation with FAST. With this funding we can deliver our first full-scale commercial deployment, and pave the way to becoming a large, European biotechnology company with a global customer base.”
Fuelling Commercial Expansion
The funding will support DAB.bio in delivering its unique FAST™ platform technology to a growing number of partners, boosting their production at large-scale fermentation processes.
Olivier van Holthe tot Echten, Investment Associate of Navus Ventures:
"The FAST™ platform of DAB.bio is a breakthrough in continuous fermentation, enabling cost-effective production of sustainable chemicals and food/feed ingredients, which fits very well into our investment strategy. We’re excited about this addition to our portfolio and to back the team as they enter their next phase of commercial growth.”
Daniela Arruda Costa, Investment Associate of Capricorn Partners:
"We are very pleased to support DAB.bio with the mission to enable a biobased transition by lowering the costs of continuous fermentation at scale. DAB.bio aligns perfectly with the vision of Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund to invest in ventures building a sustainable society.”
About DAB.bio
DAB.bio is revolutionizing industrial biomanufacturing with its FAST™ platform technology. FAST™ enables continuous fermentation, unlocking performance not achievable with conventional fermentation processes and substantially reducing product COGS at improved capex efficiency. By licensing DAB.bio’s FAST™ technology, manufacturers achieve competitive cost-levels and reduce required investments. FAST™ is agnostic of process, product or microbial host: FAST™ can among other strongly impact the production cost of chemicals, lipids, alternative proteins, enzymes and biofuels. By breaking the cost barrier in biomanufacturing, DAB.bio aims to accelerate the bioeconomy towards a net-zero future.
www.dab.bio
About Navus Ventures
Navus is a venture capital firm focused on high-tech startups and scale-ups, and is part of the family office affiliated with Lely. The company
invests in businesses that drive the ongoing transitions towards sustainable food and energy sectors. Investing both in typical VC setup as
well as for longer holding periods, Navus draws from the knowledge and network of the Lely family business, with a longstanding history in
high-tech product development and successful market entry of innovations, to directly support its portfolio companies.
www.navusventures.com
About Capricorn Partners
Capricorn Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European companies with technology as a competitive advantage. The investment team of Capricorn is composed of experienced investment managers with deep technology expertise and a broad industrial experience. Capricorn Partners is managing the venture capital funds Capricorn Chemistry Fund, Capricorn Digital Growth Fund, Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Capricorn Healthtech Fund, Capricorn Healthtech Fund II, Capricorn Industrial Biotech
Fund and Capricorn Fusion China Fund. In addition it is the management company of Quest for Growth, quoted on Euronext Brussels, and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund which is registered in Luxembourg. The Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund and is an initiative of Capricorn Partners, DSMFirmenich and InnovationQuarter to provide crucial early-stage funding and expert guidance for ventures with industrial biotechnology applications at their core.
www.capricorn.be
