🧫 Melazyme raised $2M seed to advance precision-fermented melanin and sweet proteins platform

Founded in 2025 by two Perfect Day alums, the US startup uses precision fermentation to produce high-value biomolecules, with melanin as its lead product.

It engineers microbial strains for high-yield melanin synthesis, cultivates them on renewable carbon feedstocks, and uses a solvent-free purification process to yield a powder it calls Black Gold.

Melazyme claims its melanin reaches >99% purity, well above the 70-80% from cuttlefish-extracted melanin and the 75% of chemically synthesised versions.

The naturally occurring biopolymer combines broad-spectrum UV absorption, chemical stability, and strong affinity for metal ions, opening applications across cosmetics, functional coatings, filtration, and rare-earth element recovery.

Near-term commercial activity is centred on cosmetics, where the company is already engaging global manufacturers and has developed a melanin precursor that binds to hair keratin to restore natural colour without ammonia or oxidative dyes.

The startup has also advanced its brazzein platform, a heat-stable sweet protein from the West African Oubli fruit that is 500-2,000x sweeter than sucrose, with commercial partners.