Geleen, July 16, 2026
Silicozyme B.V., a Dutch biotechnology start-up developing next-generation technologies for protein manufacturing, has secured an investment from BVP and the Limburg Startup Capital Fund (LSCF) via LIOF. The funding will accelerate the commercialization of the company’s integrated bioprocess platform, enabling simpler, lower-cost and more scalable protein production for industrial biotechnology and biologics manufacturers.
The funding marks the company’s emergence from stealth and will accelerate the commercialization of Silicozyme’s bioprocess technologies, which include engineered processing enzymes, optimized microbial production strains, and beyondAC, a downstream processing platform that encodes separation behavior into the protein itself to reduce reliance on product-specific purification development.
Silicozyme was founded by a team of serial entrepreneurs and scientists with a strong track record in protein engineering and industrial biotechnology. The company combines computational enzyme design, microbial strain development, and process engineering, building on the AI-driven enzyme and protein design track record of Candidum, to develop simpler, lower-cost, and scalable manufacturing technologies for industrial biotechnology and biologics production.
Simplifying downstream processing
Protein manufacturing, from industrial enzymes to therapeutic biologics, relies on complex downstream processing workflows that can account for up to 80% of total production cost, making them one of the largest operational and economic burdens in bioprocessing. Silicozyme develops integrated enzyme and process technologies designed to simplify these workflows by combining separation behavior and processing logic earlier into the manufacturing process, reducing dependence on highly customized purification development.
“Downstream processing is one of the biggest barriers to scalable, cost-efficient protein manufacturing: it can reach up to 80% of production cost, every new product needs a custom purification process that adds months of development, and lab-scale methods often fail at production scale,” said Sven Benson, CEO of Silicozyme. “Our answer is to make a single, standard purification workflow work across products, so manufacturers no longer rebuild purification for every new molecule, while remaining compatible with existing industrial infrastructure.”
“Downstream processing is one of the biggest barriers to scalable, cost-efficient protein manufacturing: it can reach up to 80% of production cost, every new product needs a custom purification process that adds months of development, and lab-scale methods often fail at production scale. Our answer is to make a single, standard purification workflow work across products, so manufacturers no longer rebuild purification for every new molecule, while remaining compatible with existing industrial infrastructure.”
Process-focused bioprocess innovation
Silicozyme’s technology portfolio combines engineered processing enzymes, microbial production strains, and scalable downstream processing strategies that can be implemented across a broad range of protein and peptide classes, from industrial enzymes to peptides and antibody fragments and across standard microbial hosts (E. coli, Bacillus, Pichia), which Silicozyme is validating through an ongoing benchmarking program.
The company’s beyondAC platform reduces process complexity by encoding separation behavior directly into the protein construct, so a single, standard purification workflow can be reused across products, replacing per-product purification development. Silicozyme is entering via industrial biotechnology, where new processing technologies reach commercial scale fastest and is building toward biologics manufacturing on the same platform.
“Silicozyme is building a differentiated bioprocess innovation company by combining deep enzyme and process-development expertise with AI/ML-enabled design capabilities. This integrated approach allows the company to move faster from computational design to experimental validation, rapidly iterate new enzyme and strain solutions, and materially reduce development timelines for industrial bioprocess innovation.”
Investment to accelerate commercialization
The funding will be used to expand Silicozyme’s research and development activities, strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, and accelerate commercialization of its enzyme and downstream processing technologies. The company will also initiate collaborative feasibility projects with industrial partners to evaluate scalability and workflow integration across different protein classes and manufacturing environments.
Sven Benson and Timo Nuijens, co-founders of Silicozyme, add: “Our ambition is to redesign where manufacturing complexity is solved in protein production. This investment enables us to accelerate technology development and work with industrial partners seeking more scalable and operationally efficient manufacturing approaches, lower-cost, faster to production, and compatible with existing infrastructure.”
“At LIOF, we invest in innovative companies that can translate scientific breakthroughs into economic and societal impact. Silicozyme combines scientific excellence with a clear industrial application, strengthening Limburg's position in industrial biotechnology and sustainable bioprocessing. We are proud to support the team in accelerating the commercialization of this promising platform and its international growth.”
“Our ambition is to redesign where manufacturing complexity is solved in protein production. This investment enables us to accelerate technology development and work with industrial partners seeking more scalable and operationally efficient manufacturing approaches, lower-cost, faster to production, and compatible with existing infrastructure.”
About Silicozyme B.V.
Silicozyme develops engineered enzymes, microbial strains, and downstream processing technologies that enable more efficient and scalable protein and peptide manufacturing. The company focuses on translating advances in enzyme engineering into practical manufacturing solutions for industrial biotechnology and biologics production. Silicozyme is headquartered at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, the Netherlands, and collaborates with partners to develop next-generation bioprocessing technologies.
About BVP
Brightlands Venture Partners (BVP) is an impact investor in groundbreaking and early-stage health and sustainability startups that operate out of the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. BVP is the fund manager of Brightlands Venture Partners Fund IV B.V. Other BVP funds include Chemelot Ventures, Brightlands Agrifood Fund, and Limburg Ventures. Together, the funds have made over 50 investments to date.
About LIOF and LSCF
LIOF is the regional development agency for Limburg. We strengthen the regional economy by helping innovative companies start, grow and scale through financing, innovation support and international business development.
By connecting entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, investors and governments, we accelerate innovation, develop resilient ecosystems and help companies scale internationally. Together with our partners, we create measurable economic and societal impact for Limburg. The Limburg Startup Capital Fund (LSCF), managed by LIOF, provides early-stage financing to startups and innovative SMEs contributing to key societal and technological transitions.
