INX invests in Debut, sustainable future

INX International Ink has completed an investment in Debut, a vertically integrated synthetic biology company. Debut is developing innovative and complex active ingredients for natural colors among other materials.

Debut's proprietary biomanufacturing platform employs 'cell-free' and other advanced approaches such as continuous biomanufacturing. This addresses the limitations of traditional methods, dramatically reducing the need for space, water and expensive unsustainable inputs. Alongside producing rare, high-value and novel compounds, Debut's technology also refines traditional ingredient manufacturing. By overcoming the limitations of cell-based fermentation, Debut is able to produce high-value ingredients rapidly and more sustainably.

As an investor, INX plans to leverage its technical and market expertise to assist Debut in identifying attractive product applications and evaluating ingredient performance requirements. This collaboration is in service of developing and delivering natural, lab-developed ingredients that meet customer performance and sustainability requirements.

Shane Bertsch, INX's senior vice president of strategic planning and innovation, said 'INX and Debut share a common goal of designing and delivering more sustainable materials at scale. Debut's hybrid biomanufacturing technology platform presents a new path forward for bio-based colors and we are excited to partner with the Debut team to explore opportunities in the inks and coatings space.'

Joshua Britton, Debut's founder and CEO, said 'We appreciate INX's support and belief in our mission, and look forward to partnering with the INX team to identify areas where our synthetic biology platform can address customer needs.'

In May 2022, INX established a 50 million USD INX Venture Capital investment program to support technology and materials science startups that are relevant to the printing inks and coatings value chain. Debut represents INX's third closed investment since the launch of the program.

'We established our corporate VC fund to accelerate growth for promising startups that are connected to INX's strategic missions,' said Bryce Kristo, INX's president and CEO. 'We see Debut Bio as an emerging leader in the synthetic biology space that can play a key role in moving ingredients and materials to a more sustainable, circular economy.'