Portfolio Spotlight 🔦 Number 8 Bio
From left to right: Dr Tom Williams, and Dr Alex Carpenter.
Seaweed and cows. It’s not usually the first combination that comes to mind, but for syn-bio startup Number 8 Bio, they are connecting the two to make a tangible difference on methane production and climate change through the way we feed livestock.
Dr Tom Williams and Dr Alex Carpenter are UNSW 10x Alum and co-founders of Number 8 Bio – a business that focusses on decarbonising the planet through the power of synthetic biology.
Through bioengineering, Number 8 Bio alters yeast and creates an additive that can be included in cows-feed, which then radically reduces the livestock methane production through blocking the methanogens.
Dr Williams and Dr Carpenter are both incredibly experienced scientists – they started working together in an academic context back in 2017, and from there started building out their idea and meeting with investors in 2019.
After a Covid-induced pause, they then joined 10x SynBio Stream in 2022 to learn about how they could translate the science into the world of startups and entrepreneurship.
“We’re still fresh founders, but we were we're even fresher back then,” Dr Williams said reflecting on their time in the 10x Program, “It was good exposure to people who have a bird's eye view of the industry and have mentored a number of startups before.”
Dr Carpenter added to this, mentioning how they felt empowered to find their own path.
“I think one of the things that I really liked about the 10x Program was that there were so many speakers who were at a slightly like later stage, but always coming from really different types of companies”.
“They all had used different strategies on how they decided to go through that startup process”, Dr Carpenter said.
Dr Williams and Dr Carpenter are continuing to grow and revolutionise this landscape - Number 8 Bio recently raised $1.8 million in capital and they are now looking toward their next steps.
“We’re getting out into cattle trials very soon. We've got things working incredibly well in the lab and it's now time to make an appreciable amount of product and test it,” Dr Williams said.
Their versatility is something they want to be known for, and there is even a nod to this ethos in the name.
“I’m a Kiwi, I have been in Australia for 12 years now, but in New Zealand there's a piece of farming folklore called the ‘number 8’ wire mentality which has gone beyond just farming and it's actually a national psyche or identity - and it refers to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of farmers who are able to fix anything with a piece of 8 gauge fencing wire because it's really bendy and versatile.”
“That's how we like to think of ourselves as scientists and entrepreneurs,” Dr Williams explains.
“We want farmers to think of our solutions as the modern-day number 8 wire solution for climate change and animal productivity.”
To find out more about Number 8 Bio, click here.
To find out more about how UNSW Founders can help launch your startup idea, visit us at unswfounders.com