US precision fermentation startup Melazyme, founded by two former Perfect Day executives, has raised $2M in seed funding to advance its melanin and sweet protein platform.
Melazyme, a startup using precision fermentation to develop functional biomolecules for a range of industries, has closed a $2M seed funding round.
The investment was led by SeaX Ventures, with participation from Stellaris Venture Partners and Plug and Play Ventures. It will support the firm’s platform development, production scale-up, and early commercial deployment of its target molecules.
The company was founded in 2025 by two alums of precision fermentation trailblazer Perfect Day: co-founder Perumal Gandhi and former chief product and strategy officer Bonney Oommen.
“Perumal and Bonney bring rare experience building and scaling precision fermentation companies,” said Kid Parchariyanon, managing partner of SeaX Ventures. “Melazyme is targeting molecules where fermentation delivers immediate, differentiated value – and a platform whose application space extends well beyond any single market.”
Melazyme’s precision-fermented melanin beats incumbents on purity
Precision fermentation involves inserting specific DNA into microbes to teach them to produce the desired molecules when fermented. Perfect Day pioneered this tech to make beta-lactoglobulin, a whey protein, without the cow.
Melazyme is using the tech to develop high-value molecules such as melanin and “specialty proteins” like brazzein (a sweet protein), with fermentation enabling functional advantages that conventional chemistry cannot match.
The firm says its platform is defined by “functional depth rather than commodity output”, and is supported by patent-pending proprietary technology that covers both the production platform and its applications across multiple industries.
Melanin seems to be its chief focus, thanks to its broad commercial opportunities. The naturally occurring biopolymer combines broad-spectrum UV absorption, chemical stability, and strong affinity for metal ions. This makes it ideal for applications across cosmetics and UV protection, functional coatings and advanced materials, and filtration and environmental remediation.
A consistent and application-ready supply of melanin has remained largely out of reach. Melazyme’s platform addresses this bottleneck, producing commercially viable melanin with molecular and functional properties that can be tuned for specific end uses, rather than being accepted as given.
To produce it, the startup selects and optimises specific microbial strains capable of high-yield melanin synthesis. These are engineered for stability and efficiency, and cultivated in controlled bioreactors, where they’re fed with renewable carbon sources.
The microbes convert this feedstick into premium melanin. Melazyme harvests this and uses a solvent-free purification process to remove cellular debris, yielding a powder called Black Gold.
This has over 99% purity, much higher than the 70-80% purity found in melanin naturally extracted from cuttlefish blood, and 75% purity of chemically synthesised melanin.
Cosmetics a key focus for melanin amid sweet protein progress
“Our platform is built around the ability to tune molecular function for specific applications. With melanin, that means the same underlying material can be engineered to solve entirely different problems across industries,” said Gandhi, who is Melazyme’s CEO.
The startup suggests that melanin’s selective affinity for metal ions is a “particularly differentiated aspect” of its profile and enables applications in heavy-metal sequestration, advanced filtration, and rare-earth element recovery. This presents a bio-based solution to climate-harming and expensive critical materials used in the clean energy, electronics and defence industries.
But Melazyme’s near-term commercial activity is centred on cosmetics, where melanin’s UV protection and natural pigmentation properties are driving early engagement with global manufacturers.
For instance, its specialised melanin precursor binds directly to hair keratin, helping restore natural colour without ammonia or oxidative dyes.
Meanwhile, the startup has also advanced its brazzein platform with commercial partners. The heat-stable natural sweet protein is found in the West African Oubli fruit, and is 500-2,000 times sweeter than sucrose. Several companies are already cleared to sell precision-fermented brazzein in the US, including Oobli, Sweegen, Microfarmtory, Nanjing Bestzyme, and even Perfect Day.
Melazyme will now use the funds to scale up production, deepen partner collaborations, and advance early deployments across the consumer, industrial, and environmental markets.
“We believe precision fermentation is entering its defining decade, and Melazyme is positioned to be one of the companies that shape it,” said Parchariyanon. “This is the kind of founding team and platform-level technology that comes along once in a generation — and SeaX is proud to back it.”
