Found in 2022, Ruby Bio manufactures biodegradable and non-toxic chemicals through biotechnology. Ruby’s proprietary biosynthesis platform converts low-cost sugar and up-cycled waste into high-value products for sustainable personal care, home care, food, and beverage items, begin with biosurfactant.
Surfactants play a critical role in the personal care industry. Globally, there are 17 million metric tons of surfactants produced annually, valued at USD 47.36 billion in 2024. The production of surfactants is traditionally based on petrochemical, palm kernel oil (PKO) and/or coconut oil (CNO)- derived feedstocks. Ruby Bio's fermentation-derived biosurfactants represent an important upcoming class of sustainable ingredients for innovative personal care formulations.
Ruby Bio is here to carry the chemical industry into the future with products that perform better, cost the same, and are far more sustainable than traditional petrochemicals
Charlie Silver
CEO and Co-Founder
HOW IT WORK
The Science
Ruby Bio is building fermentation-derived biosurfactants to produce biodegradable, non-toxic and fossil-free ingredients for innovative personal care formulations. Using engineered natural yeasts and proprietary manufacturing processes, they create high-purity molecules that are as safe for the planet as they are effective on your skin. By leveraging low-cost sugar feedstocks and high-efficiency yeast strains, Ruby Bio is building a cost-effective, high-performance, and scalable biosynthesis platform.
EARTH FIRST VISION
The Future
Ruby Bio leverages naturally occurring yeast to convert low-cost sugars into high-value, biodegradable, and non-toxic molecules through biotechnology. Ruby’s proprietary biosynthesis platform enables sustainable innovation across personal care, home care, food, and beverage sectors, starting with biosurfactants.
The global surfactants market is worth $47.36 billion in 2024, with 17 million metric tons produced annually. Biosurfactants make up 5% of that market ($2.37 billion) and are projected to grow at a CAGR of 11%. Ruby Bio is leading the charge, replacing the pollution-heavy legacy of petrochemistry with biotechnology built for people and the planet.
people
Their DNA
Ruby Bio is led by a seasoned team of builders with deep expertise in biotech, engineering, and scaling synthetic biology from bench to market.
Charlie Silver (CEO & Co-founder) previously built Mission Bio from the ground up, raising $120M and scaling the company to a $300M valuation. His career spans leadership roles in product and technology at Novelx (A:NYSE), Agilent, and Glimmerglass Networks, and research positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and NASA Goddard. He holds a joint MBA from UC Berkeley and Columbia University, an MS in Physics from UW–Madison, and a joint BA in Astrophysics and Philosophy from Columbia.
Dr. Pavan Kambam (CTO & Co-founder) is a bioprocess and fermentation expert with an MBA from UMass-Amherst, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UMass-Amherst, and a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology at Madras. He has led biosynthesis development at six startups, including Greenlight Biosciences, Clara Foods, and Eat Just, with a track record taking biomanufacturing from bench to pilot scale.