This week, 2010 alums Ginkgo Bioworks announced a $275M Series D round to design custom microbes for customers across markets from food to fragrances. According to the Boston Globe, this isnt just a huge roundits transformative. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the newest unicorn.

Valued at over $1B, Ginkgo has experienced incredible traction in the years following MassChallenge. At their earliest stage (back when they were called Primus), they had an opportunity to access a global community of experts, corporates, investors, and fellow entrepreneursall at zero cost and for zero equity. With ecosystem-wide validation and support, the startup was able to turn their idea into a reality and bring their solution to the people and industries that need it most.

Today, Ginkgo is regularly heralded as one of the most-exciting young companies in biology. 

In 2017 alone, the startup acquired synthetic DNA provider Gen9, announced a successful commercial-scale fermentation, built out its executive team and board, expanded partnerships with Fortune 1000 companies, opened their third foundry (Bioworks3), and more. 

With this latest round, Ginkgo has become the first MassChallenge unicorn (!), the most-promising biotech organization in the country, and the most highly-valued Boston company with at least one female founder.

Were so excited to follow the teams continued growth this is just the beginning!