US- and Thailand-based venture capital firm SeaX Ventures has anchored a $2 million seed funding round in American precision fermentation startup Melazyme, according to an announcement.
The round, which also drew participation from Stellaris Venture Partners and Plug and Play Ventures, comes as the Utah-based company is building a fermentation platform.
Founded in 2025 by former Perfect Day executives Perumal Gandhi and Bonney Oommen, Melazyme is developing a precision fermentation platform focused on producing specialty biomolecules, per the announcement. These biomolecules are used across cosmetics, industrial materials, filtration, and environmental remediation.
Melazyme said its platform is designed to engineer molecules with specific functional properties rather than focusing on commodity-scale output.
One of its key focus areas is melanin, a naturally occurring biopolymer that has applications in UV protection, coatings, heavy metal sequestration, filtration, and rare earth element recovery.
“With melanin, that means the same underlying material can be engineered to solve entirely different problems across industries,” said Gandhi, who is Melazyme’s co-founder and CEO.
The fresh capital will be used to support platform development, scale up production, and advance early commercial deployment of its target molecules, the company said.
The startup said near-term commercial activity is centred on the cosmetics sector, where manufacturers are exploring melanin for UV protection and pigmentation uses.
The global precision fermentation market could exceed $70 billion by 2030, Melazyme added.
SeaX Ventures managing partner Kid Parchariyanon said the investment reflects growing interest in precision fermentation as industries increasingly shift toward bio-manufacturing.
“Precision fermentation is entering its defining decade, and Melazyme is positioned to be one of the companies that shapes it,” said Dr. Kid Parchariyanon, managing partner of SeaX Ventures.
SeaX invests in early-stage startups globally, particularly companies developing what it calls “exponential technologies” such as AI, biotech, foodtech, robotics, blockchain, quantum computing, and sustainability technologies.
The firm was founded in 2018 and operates out of San Francisco and Bangkok. It is led by Dr. Kid (Supachai) Parchariyanon, a Thai entrepreneur and investor who also founded corporate innovation platform RISE.
Last year, SeaX unveiled SeaX Zero, a $6 million fund to invest in companies that aim to reduce carbon emissions. The fund has already invested in companies like Hoxton Farms, Type One Energy, Active Surfaces, and Bluu Seafood.
