Bio Architecture Lab

Founded in 2008, Bio Architecture Lab, Inc. (BAL) was a biotechnology startup located in Berkeley, CA. BAL applied synthetic biology and enzyme design to the development of biofuels and renewable chemicals from aquafarmed, native macroalgae (seaweed) -- a low cost, scalable, sustainable biomass. Company investors include Aurus Capital, Austral Capital, Statoil Ventures and X/Seed Capital. BAL also received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E program, both directly and through a sub-contract with DuPont, and was awarded funding from InnovaChile CORFO, the Chilean Economic Development Agency in partnership with the Universidad de Los Lagos. The company had a strategic partnership with Statoil, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Company, and made headlines in 2013 when its technology was featured on the cover of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Science Magazine. Bio Architecture Lab is no longer in business; the company shut down in 2014.