Bits in Bio x Founders and Friends in Fermentation: SynBioBeta/San Jose Edition
For one week a year for the past 14 years, 2000 people have flown out to San Jose for the largest Synthetic Biology Conference in the United States.
Bits in Bio and Founders and Friends in Fermentation are joining forces during SynBioBeta 2026 for a free community mixer built around one idea: biology is how we build the future.
SynBioBeta 2026 is bringing together 550+ companies across:
🤖 ~50 AI x Bio companies 🧬 ~70 Strain Engineering companies 🛠 ~80 Tools, Tech & Platform companies 🌍 ~90 Planetary Health & Sustainability companies 💰 ~60 Investor & VC firms 🎓 ~70 Academic & Research Institutions
This is your chance to meet the people behind the science before the main conference kicks off. Drinks, conversations, and the occasional deep dive into fermentation kinetics.
Come and grab a pint with us 🍻
Saku Biosciences Saku Biosciences is engineering host cell products to improve biomanufacturing economics. Founded in 2024 by Mark van Zee, John Alden, and Michael Mellody the company targets higher output per run, shorter batch times, and lower media and equipment costs — with the goal of making biotechnology products cheaper to produce at scale.
Growth Curve Bio Growth Curve Bio is a CDMO specializing in precision fermentation process development and scale-up. Their team of experienced engineers and operators has scaled bioprocesses from microtiter plates to tens of thousands of liters, helping clients hit technical and commercial milestones from benchtop through pilot scale. GCB's facility is based in Durham, North Carolina, in the heart of the Research Triangle.
Bits in Bio Bits in Bio is a global community at the intersection of software and the life sciences, connecting computational experts with biologists to accelerate the bioeconomy. With 5,000+ members across 15+ cities worldwide, it operates as a neutral, non-profit platform serving everyone from big biopharma veterans to first-timers exploring computational biology — through events, job postings, mentorship, and a thriving online network.
Founders and Friends in Fermentation Founders and Friends in Fermentation is a casual gathering series for anyone working in or curious about fermentation, biotech, food tech, alternative proteins, and the future of sustainable biology. No panels, no presentations — just founders, investors, researchers, and builders connecting over drinks in relaxed settings across the Bay Area. The community brings together the fermentation ecosystem at its most honest: real conversation, new collaborators, and the kind of connections that actually move things forward.