Breaking

Breaking is a greentech company focused on plastic degradation through synthetic biology, which launched from stealth in April 2024 after gestating at Colossal Biosciences. The venture is built upon a core discovery made at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in 2022. Breaking has secured $10.5 million in seed funding to advance its mission.

The company was co-founded by a team with deep expertise in synthetic biology, genetics, and entrepreneurship. Co-founder and CEO, Dr. Sukanya Punthambaker, has over two decades of experience in life sciences and previously collaborated with Dr. George Church at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute on synthetic biology and protein engineering. Co-founder and CSO, Vaskar Gnyawali, brings a background in microfluidics and medical devices. They are joined by prominent figures from science and business, including Harvard geneticist George Church, Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, and Colossal co-founders Ben Lamm and Kent Wakeford, alongside Alba Tull. The collaboration between Punthambaker and Gnyawali began at the Wyss Institute, where they combined their complementary skills in genetics and engineering to address the global plastics crisis.

Breaking is developing a solution to one of the world's most pressing environmental problems: the 5,000 million tons of plastic polluting ecosystems. The company's flagship product is X-32, a naturally derived microbe that can break down multiple types of plastics, including tough-to-degrade polyolefins, as well as polyesters and polyamides. In its natural state, X-32 can degrade these materials in as little as 22 months, leaving behind only carbon dioxide, water, and biomass. This positions it as a more versatile alternative to other solutions that often target only a single plastic type. The company's business model focuses on eliminating plastic waste that is not suitable for traditional recycling. The initial go-to-market strategy targets industries such as food waste and composting, with future applications planned for wastewater treatment and marine environments. Breaking's process is designed to be more environmentally friendly than methods like incineration, which releases noxious chemicals. The company is now using its synthetic biology expertise, including machine learning and AI, to engineer X-32 to be faster and more efficient. Additionally, Breaking is investigating the potential of the biomass byproduct, which could be used to produce valuable materials like biofuels and biodegradable plastics.

Keywords: plastic degradation, synthetic biology, greentech, environmental remediation, Colossal Biosciences, Wyss Institute, microbial technology, X-32 microbe, polyolefin degradation, polyester degradation, polyamide degradation, circular economy, waste management, sustainable technology, bio-recycling, enzyme engineering, Sukanya Punthambaker, Vaskar Gnyawali, George Church, Ben Lamm