Atantares (芯宿科技) Raises Series A for Third-Generation DNA Synthesis on Molecular Chips

Atantares Closes Series A Round

Atantares (芯宿科技), a China-based synthetic-biology company, has raised a Series A round, according to company funding data. The round was disclosed with a funding date of September 30, 2026. The specific funding amount was not disclosed in the available data.

Investors

The Series A included participation from:

• Prosperity7 Ventures
• CSC Capital (中信建投资本)
• SIP Leading Venture Capital (苏州工业园区领军创投)
• Suzhou Angel Fund of Funds (苏创投-天使母基金)

No single lead investor was identified in the funding data.

What Atantares Does

Atantares develops third-generation DNA synthesis on molecular chips. The company's core technology is a CMOS-MEMS silicon-chip and microfluidics platform that moves chemical synthesis reactions from millimetre-scale well plates down to the micron scale. This miniaturization enables high-throughput assembly of long gene sequences at drastically lower cost.

The company has built China's first desktop high-throughput DNA synthesizer. Its business model pairs direct equipment sales with CRO services, including primer pool synthesis, gene library construction, and custom gene synthesis. Clients span both China and overseas markets.

Founding and Background

Atantares was founded in 2021 by Dr. Xin Zhao. The company operates at the intersection of semiconductor manufacturing techniques and synthetic biology — a combination that underpins its chip-based synthesis approach.

Why the Technology Matters

DNA synthesis is a foundational capability for synthetic biology. Cost and throughput are persistent constraints: conventional synthesis platforms rely on well-plate formats that limit scale and drive up per-base costs. By pushing reactions to the micron scale on silicon chips, Atantares aims to address both constraints simultaneously.

If the platform performs as described, it could lower barriers for applications that require long gene sequences or large libraries — areas where cost has historically restricted experimentation. The desktop form factor of the company's synthesizer also suggests a push toward making high-throughput synthesis more accessible to laboratories rather than confining it to large centralized facilities.

The CRO Layer

Beyond hardware, Atantares offers contract research services spanning primer pool synthesis, gene library construction, and custom gene synthesis. This dual model — equipment sales plus services — gives the company two routes to revenue and allows customers to access its synthesis capabilities without purchasing a system outright.

Funding Details

• Round type: Series A
• Amount raised: Not disclosed
• Currency referenced: CNY
• Funding date: September 30, 2026
• Lead investor: Not disclosed
• Investors: Prosperity7 Ventures, CSC Capital (中信建投资本), SIP Leading Venture Capital (苏州工业园区领军创投), Suzhou Angel Fund of Funds (苏创投-天使母基金)
• Company stage: Series A

What to Watch

With Series A funding in place, Atantares will be judged on execution across two fronts: scaling its chip-based synthesis platform and expanding its CRO service business. The investor group includes both venture capital and government-linked funds from the Suzhou area, suggesting regional support for the company's manufacturing and research footprint.

For the synthetic-biology sector, Atantares represents a bet on semiconductor-style scaling as a path to cheaper, higher-throughput DNA synthesis — an approach that, if successful, could ripple through markets that depend on synthetic genes and libraries.

Summary

Atantares (芯宿科技), founded in 2021 by Dr. Xin Zhao, has raised a Series A round with participation from Prosperity7 Ventures, CSC Capital, SIP Leading Venture Capital, and Suzhou Angel Fund of Funds. The company develops third-generation DNA synthesis on CMOS-MEMS molecular chips, has built China's first desktop high-throughput DNA synthesizer, and pairs equipment sales with CRO services for clients in China and overseas.