Japan-based Shimadzu Corporation has invested in Bacchus Bio innovation, a startup company spun off from Kobe University, and signed a corresponding business partnership agreement.
Bacchus’s strength is using its advanced biotechnology in combination with digital technology in the field of 'smart cells'.
By investing in Bacchus, Shimadzu intends to fully enter the field of smart cells and contribute to achieving a carbon-free society through development of innovative analytical and measuring technologies.
Smart cells are cells with artificially modified genes that allow for efficiently mass producing targeted beneficial substances. Combining biotechnology, such as genome editing or genome synthesis, with digital technology, such as AI or IT, is expected to improve production efficiency for substances that were previously difficult to mass produce using conventional methods.
Therefore, it will result in technical innovation in various areas, such as pharmaceuticals, foods, new materials, and environmental measurement. Smart cells are also considered essential from the perspective of a carbon-free society.