Turning Air into Fuel: The Anthrogen Story

In the race to decarbonize our world, we’ve placed our bet on a team that’s rewriting the rules of chemical manufacturing. Anthrogen, a San Francisco-based startup, has engineered the fastest photosynthesizing organism ever known to exist. Their breakthrough? Using these supercharged microbes and AI-designed enzymes to transform atmospheric CO2 into valuable chemicals using nothing but sunlight.

The company recently secured $4 million in funding to accelerate their vision of creating affordable, carbon-negative chemicals. This isn’t just another green technology – it’s a fundamental reimagining of how we produce the building blocks of modern life.

What sets Anthrogen apart is their unified platform that combines AI-engineered enzymes with these remarkable microbes. Their system optimizes chemical reactions in ways previously thought impossible, creating a production process that runs primarily on sunlight instead of electricity (often the costliest part of standard “e-fuel” operations). The implications are staggering: chemicals that don’t just reduce carbon emissions but actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere while remaining cost-competitive with fossil fuel alternatives.

The founding team brings together an exceptional blend of expertise. Led by CEO Ankit Singhal, alongside Connor Lee and Vignesh Karthik, these Columbia University alumni combine deep knowledge in biophysics, robotics, and geology. Their approach to solving complex enzymatic challenges with AI demonstrates the kind of innovative thinking that defines category-creating companies.

Initially focused on carbon capture, Anthrogen has expanded their vision to include recombinant protein expression and generative protein models. Their technology can produce everything from jet fuel to industrial polymers, all while consuming CO2 rather than creating it.

The challenge of using atmospheric CO2 as a feedstock has always been its stability and low concentration. Anthrogen’s breakthrough lies in their AI models, which design specialized enzymes that actively capture CO2 and transform it through an optimized pathway into valuable chemicals.

This is why we invested. In a world desperate for scalable climate solutions, Anthrogen isn’t just offering incremental improvements – they’re fundamentally transforming chemical manufacturing. They’re proving that environmental sustainability and economic viability aren’t mutually exclusive. They’re showing us that the future of chemistry isn’t found in oil wells, but in the elegant folds of novel enzymes , powered by sunlight and guided by artificial intelligence.

The road ahead is long, but the potential is boundless. This is more than an investment in a company – it’s an investment in a future where chemistry works in harmony with our planet, not against it.

That’s the kind of future worth building.