Cauldron appoints former Solugen, BASF executive David Weiner as CTO

Cauldron Ferm, a next-generation biomanufacturer, has appointed David Weiner as Chief Technology Officer. Weiner will run the technology R&D pipeline for Cauldron’s next phase of global expansion, applying his proven leadership in advancing technology platforms and scaling first-of-a-kind biomanufacturing processes.

Weiner’s appointment comes at a vital moment for Cauldron and the broader sector. The high costs of traditional biomanufacturing methods make it impossible for synthetic biology companies to compete commercially with mainstream petrochemical or animal-derived products. Lowering production costs to deliver bio-products at – or below – cost parity to their conventional counterparts is key to realizing the industry’s full potential.

Founded in 2022, Cauldron deploys its proprietary 'hyper-fermentation' technology to unlock a scalable continuous bioprocess that significantly reduces the cost of manufacturing for mainstream, high volume bio-manufactured goods. By generating more volume at less cost, using smaller bioreactors, Cauldron solves the industry’s main challenges of scale and cost. The company provides this specialized manufacturing platform as a service to synthetic biology product companies. Cauldron has proven the efficacy of the technology at 10,000-liter demo scale and has plans in place to scale up to larger industrial-scale production.

“David brings a distinguished career leading R&D programs that deliver on process optimization to scale novel bioprocesses,” said Michele Stansfield, Co-Founder and CEO of Cauldron. “As Cauldron expands on key technical breakthroughs with our hyper-fermentation platform technology, David brings valuable perspectives to our leadership team.”

Over the course of his 25+ years in biotechnology research and development, Weiner has led teams to scale pioneering solutions across Industrial Biotech, Ag-Biotech, Food and Nutrition, Biofuels and Pharma. Prior to joining Cauldron, he served as VP and Head of R&D at Solugen, where he helped develop the company’s chemienzymatic technology platform, underpinning the first-of-a-kind biomanufacturing plant – the Bioforge. Previously, he served as Global VP, Technology & Product Development at BASF; VP, R&D Strategy, Innovation & Partnerships at Verenium Corporation; and Associate Director, R&D at Diversa Corporation.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to expand hyper-fermentation as a platform to scale continuous processes for the global biotech industry,” said Weiner. “Throughout my career, I’ve seen how applying cutting-edge science to industrial solutions can drive meaningful impact at scale. Cauldron’s ability to deliver mainstream bio-products at cost parity with traditional goods offers incredible potential for the bioeconomy. We can redefine the scope of biomanufacturing.”

Over the past year, Cauldron has achieved significant momentum, including onboarding six clients at their 25,000-liter demo facility and closing a Series A round of over US$6.25 million. Industry-leading investors SOSV and In-Q-Tel joined existing investors Main Sequence and Horizons Ventures in supporting Cauldron’s expansion. This growth stems from pivotal technical advancements, building on the robust foundation of continuous fermentation R&D and hyper-fermentation IP acquired through the 2022 acquisition of Agritechnology.

Developed over more than three decades of R&D, Agritechnology had proven the efficiency of a proprietary hyper-fermentation platform technology to establish a scalable, repeatable continuous process at 10,000-liter scale. Post-acquisition, Cauldron has rapidly advanced the technology – validating hyper-fermentation’s compatibility with multiple organisms and proving the technology’s advantages with multiple precision fermentation client success cases. Client data shows significant gains in productivity compared to fed-batch fermentation and techno-economic analyses have shown Cauldron’s ability to drive down cost of goods to enable clients to commercialize at price parity with petrochemical and animal-derived products. Cauldron offers a scalable solution to some of the most pressing challenges across various industries.