Future of the $4T Bioeconomy: Nature as builder.

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Today, we explore recreating the supply chain of products we consume using biological substitutes.

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Nature is the ultimate creator—an unparalleled designer, engineer, and operator. By comparison, our machines and factories feel crude while nature builds with elegance, efficiency, and precision. The bioeconomy, set to become a $4 trillion force, is reshaping how we make products by partnering with nature itself. Synonym sees this as the future and is funding and developing the infrastructure to power biomanufacturing.

Synonym CEO Edward Shenderovich envisions a world where energy, plastics, chemicals, and medicine aren’t built—they’re grown. This future is now within reach, thanks to breakthroughs in AI that allow us to decode, design, and collaborate with biology. A new era, where human ingenuity fuses with the power of nature, is on the horizon.

My 5 Year Outlook:

• One bio factory, countless products

  Biomanufacturing infrastructure is extremely versatile to what can be produced.

• Nature is coming for the petrochemical industry

  From fuel to plastics, the biological versions are more elegant and effective.

• Scientific AI models are giving us design control over biological organisms

  Alphafold revolutionized protein folding, other models are helping to create and modify existing organisms at speed.

Curious? Read on as I unpack each below 👇🏼

One bio factory, countless products

The magic of biomanufacturing lies in its incredible flexibility, especially in fermentation-based production systems. Unlike traditional factories that are locked into single-use processes, fermentation factories act like multi-purpose bio-kitchens. These facilities can take all kinds of inputs—plants, microbes, even waste—and process them into a wide variety of outputs. The same infrastructure can be used to brew biofuels, grow biodegradable plastics, or synthesize specialty chemicals. It’s as if you had a high-tech kitchen that could take different ingredients and create a whole range of new products, all in the same pot. This adaptability is why biomanufacturing is a game-changer, and we’re just starting to explore its vast potential.

The fun part is how fermentation technology is evolving. Companies are setting up “fermentation factories,” where engineered microbes are grown in bioreactors, fed various sugars or waste materials, and then produce products like bio-based textiles, eco-friendly cosmetics, or even lab-grown meat. These bioreactors are essentially huge, controlled vessels where microbes act as mini factories, breaking down inputs and assembling outputs at the molecular level.

While we still need to build and scale these fermentation factories, a process that will take capital and expertise, their versatility means we can innovate fast as they come online, adjust processes quickly, and reduce waste in ways traditional manufacturing just can’t. As these fermentation factories scale, biomanufacturing is poised to revolutionize industries with cleaner, smarter, and more adaptable production.

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Nature is coming for the petrochemical industry

A notable first target for biomanufacturing is the transformation of the multi-trillion-dollar petrochemical industry, offering eco-friendly, bio-based alternatives to traditional oil-based products like fuels and plastics. As consumer (and therefore business) demand for sustainable solutions grows, the technology is advancing rapidly, offering practical, scalable ways to produce everything from materials to energy in a more environmentally friendly manner.

Plastics are everywhere—about 300 million tons are produced globally each year, much of it ending up in our oceans. Now, breakthroughs in bioengineering allow us to use plants, microbes, and algae to create renewable materials, drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing plastic waste. The potential to revolutionize industries that rely on petrochemicals is enormous.

Exciting innovations are already here. LanzaTech is turning carbon emissions into ethanol for bio-based plastics and fuels, while NatureWorks produces compostable plastics from corn used in packaging and coffee pods. In cars, bio-plastics are replacing petroleum-based materials, and startups are even developing durable, biodegradable packaging from fungi. As these technologies scale, they’ll reshape industries from automotive to consumer goods, paving the way for a cleaner, greener future.

Scientific AI models are giving us design control over biological organisms

AI has been a key accelerant to ushering in the new bioeocnomy. Alphabet’s Alphafold, for example, has been a game-changer for biology, revolutionizing how we understand protein structures by predicting how millions of proteins fold. What once took years of painstaking lab work, AlphaFold accomplished in days, unlocking massive potential for drug discovery, synthetic biology, and more. 

Proteins are fundamental to the bioeconomy because they are the building blocks of life. Virtually every process in a living organism—growth, metabolism, repair—depends on proteins. From enzymes that speed up chemical reactions to antibodies that protect us from disease, proteins play a key role in everything from health to industrial applications. Understanding how proteins fold allows us to design custom proteins for biomanufacturing, creating new medicines, sustainable biofuels, and even biodegradable plastics. Beyond protein folding, models like CRISPR-AI for gene editing, and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for metabolic pathway design are opening up new frontiers.

Imagine not only predicting protein folds but designing proteins and enzymes for specific tasks—like creating bacteria that break down plastic or crops that resist climate change. AI models can simulate how biological organisms will behave in real environments, giving us unparalleled control over bioengineering.

In the next five years, we’ll see rapid advances in custom-built organisms, personalized medicine, and bio-based products, all powered by AI that continuously learns and optimizes biological systems. What AlphaFold did for proteins, the next generation of AI models will do for the entire bioeconomy.

Let’s get growing!