ByBug

According to the FAO, 1.3 billion tons of organic waste (OW) are discarded annually, with Latin America representing 16% and recycling less than 10% (IDB). Worldwide, companies and governments spend $40 trillion per year on transporting and disposing of decomposing organic waste in landfills, which generates 10% of GHG emissions.

Intensive insect farming has emerged as the most widely adopted alternative for managing organic waste by converting it into insect flour. To achieve competitive pricing compared to fish meal, the industry has relied on economies of scale, which require the mobilization of large quantities of organic waste. This transportation contributes to a carbon footprint, and the price of organic waste has increased by 300% in Europe in recent years, a trend expected to repeat worldwide.
Currently, there is a shortage of fermenters and bioreactors, limiting the production and scalability of recombinant proteins. This scarcity increases costs and hinders meeting the growing demand for sustainable protein alternatives in various industries.
It is crucial to address these issues because:
Firstly, inadequate organic waste management has a negative impact on the environment and contributes to climate change. By recycling and valorizing these waste materials through insect farming and recombinant protein production, we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote more sustainable practices.
Additionally, the demand for recombinant proteins is increasing in diverse industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, due to their versatility and environmental benefits. However, the lack of scalability in production limits the ability to meet this growing demand and hampers widespread adoption of these proteins as a sustainable alternative.

ByBug has developed ByBug Synthetic, a technological platform that utilizes genetically modified insects to convert organic waste into recombinant proteins, such as animal vaccines or industrial enzymes. This technology will be transferred to intensive insect breeding companies, allowing for a significant increase in the value obtained per ton of organic waste. This, in turn, will incentivize large waste generators to valorize their waste instead of sending it to landfills. Additionally, it offers an alternative to conventional bioreactors by leveraging the existing infrastructure in intensive insect breeding, enabling greater production capacity and cost reduction by utilizing organic waste as a substrate.

On the other hand, to address small and medium-sized organic waste generators, ByBug has developed ByBug Farms, which are easy-to-operate 20-foot insect breeding modules. These modules enable any organic waste generator to reduce its carbon footprint and generate products such as insect flour and fertilizer. They also have the option to incorporate ByBug Synthetic technology to produce recombinant proteins, allowing them to generate income from their organic waste.

Our value proposition to end customers can be summarized as follows:

1. Intensive black soldier fly farming companies: Our value proposition to intensive black soldier fly farming companies is based on the transfer of ByBug Synthetic technology. By integrating our technology into their operations, these companies can significantly increase the value obtained per ton of organic waste. They can leverage our genetically modified insects to convert waste into high-value recombinant proteins, such as animal vaccines or industrial enzymes. This enables them to enhance their product offerings, increase revenue streams, and capitalize on the growing demand for sustainable and innovative solutions in the market.

2. Industries requiring recombinant proteins: Our value proposition to industries that require recombinant proteins, such as the animal vaccine industry or industrial enzyme manufacturers, is the reliable and sustainable supply of these proteins. Through the use of ByBug Synthetic technology, we can produce high-quality recombinant proteins from organic waste sources. This ensures a renewable and environmentally friendly source of proteins while offering competitive prices. Our solution satisfies their needs for sustainable ingredients with a scalable production system, supporting their efforts to reduce dependence on traditional production methods that may have environmental or ethical concerns.

3. Waste generators: For waste generators, both large-scale generators and small to medium-sized enterprises with organic waste, our value proposition lies in providing them with a sustainable and cost-effective solution to manage their organic waste. By implementing ByBug Farms and utilizing ByBug Synthetic technology, they can reduce their carbon footprint and generate additional income by transforming their waste into valuable products such as insect flour, fertilizer, or recombinant proteins. Our solution allows them to contribute to a circular economy, minimize waste disposal costs, and meet sustainability goals.

1. José Del Solar, CEO of ByBug, is a biotechnology engineer with over 4 years of experience leading startups in recombinant protein production. He combines a solid academic background with notable achievements and entrepreneurial skills. He interned at the Biomedical Molecular Immunology laboratory at PUC, where he worked on the production of viral recombinant proteins (PR). He has completed The Power MBA's Future Leaders program and serves as an entrepreneurship professor in biotechnology at UNAB. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsb/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead the technical-commercial validation process, establish partnerships with major companies, close financing rounds, and ensure the achievement of the company's strategic objectives.

2. Gerardo Bluske (Co-Founder and CBO):
Experience: Gerardo is an industrial engineer and MBA with over 10 years of experience in international business development. He has a wide range of experience in areas such as innovation and negotiation. He has worked in multinational companies such as Coca-Cola and Fiat in negotiation roles for over 8 years. In the last 5 years, he has focused on his own ventures in the retail and whole sale sectors. His experience includes strategic product definition, negotiation with international suppliers, and the development and management of a portfolio of over 60 active clients. Gerardo has developed strong skills in scaling businesses internationally and managing legal and regulatory aspects.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardobluske/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead the development of growth and international expansion strategies, establish technology transfer agreements and product co-development, and handle legal and regulatory aspects to ensure the achievement of ByBug's commercial objectives.

3. Rocío Espinosa (Co-Founder and COO):
Experience: Rocío is a preventive restorer with over 7 years of experience in managing B2B and B2G projects. She has worked in various settings, including non-governmental organizations, private companies, and public institutions, which has allowed her to acquire extensive experience in communication, organization, and teamwork. 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocio-espinosa-torres-29bb04202/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Efficiently coordinate projects, ensure quality and adherence to established timelines, lead multidisciplinary teams, and ensure compliance with management standards in project implementation.

4. Daniel Troncoso (Co-Founder and CTO):
Experience: Daniel is a biotechnology engineer with over 8 years of experience in agrobiotechnology. His background includes being a co-founder of Fungifood, an R&D company focused on edible mushroom products, and Fungidrink, a spinoff of Fungifood where he developed fermentation processes with multicellular fungi. Additionally, as a co-founder of The Earth Says, he gained experience in agricultural marketing, R&D, crop management, and patent drafting. He worked for 2 years at Deep Science Ventures, where he developed projects in molecular biology with insects and conducted market research on insects worldwide, establishing connections with international investors. He also has extensive knowledge in team management and is certified in Scrum.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dtroncosoe/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead research and development of new recombinant proteins, optimize BSF egg production, develop protein purification systems, and establish and execute intellectual property strategies in collaboration with legal firms.

Technology:

- We obtained our first genetically modified black solider fly strain that is able to overexpress and immunostimulant for the salmon industry.
- We have validate that we are able to mantein the genetical modification up to the 4th generation of flies.
- We have validated that our technology is 60% more cost-effective, than traditional bioreactors, for recombinant protein production.
- We have validated that we can obtain more grams of recombinant protein per kilogram of biomass than traditional bioreactors.

Business:

- We raised USD 1.320.000 during the last 18 months.
- LOI signed with INNOVAFEED (Largest insect breeder in the world) to validate or technology.
- LOI signed with PROTIX (Second largest insect breeder in the world) to validate or technology.
- MOU signed with FOOD4FUTURE (Largest insect breeder in south america) to test and coomercialize our technology.
- MOU signed with BIOMAR (Largest salmon breeder in South America) to test our tecnology.

I am applying to the MIT SOLVE challenge because our company faces significant challenges related to regulatory requirements and market strategy in the United States.

Our primary obstacles revolve around navigating the regulatory landscape for entering the US market, as well as developing an effective go-to-market strategy. These challenges are critical as they directly impact our ability to introduce our products to US-based clients and establish a foothold in this market.

One of our key initiatives involves identifying and defining our first product offering tailored specifically to US clients. However, this is just the beginning. We recognize that obtaining FDA approvals is a crucial step in this process, and it requires the right partnerships and assessments to navigate successfully.

Therefore, by participating in the MIT SOLVE challenge, we aim to leverage the expertise and resources available to address these challenges head-on. We believe that access to mentorship, guidance, and potential partnerships through the MIT SOLVE platform will greatly enhance our capabilities and increase our chances of achieving regulatory compliance and market success in the United States.

Competitive advantages of ByBug:

1. Improved development speed: With ByBug Synthetic, we can transform insects faster and more efficiently than current methods. This increased efficiency allows us to conduct more experiments and achieve significant results for new products in less time, enabling us to diversify our product offerings in a shorter period compared to our competitors.

2. Production yield: ByBug Synthetic utilizes genetically modified insects to produce recombinant proteins, which have the highest protein production rate per gram of biomass among eukaryotic organisms. This technology offers an efficient alternative with proper folding compared to traditional production methods such as bacteria, yeasts, or cell lines.

3. Reduced production costs: By utilizing organic waste from various sources as a substrate, ByBug Synthetic can reduce the costs associated with acquiring conventional substrates. This provides a competitive advantage by enabling cost-effective production of recombinant proteins.

4. Scalability and production capacity: ByBug is based on intensive insect farming, which benefits from existing infrastructure and the industry's rapid growth. This allows for large-scale production of recombinant proteins, meeting the demand that is currently unmet by the bioreactor market.

5. Reduced environmental impact: ByBug contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the overall environmental impact of recombinant protein production by valorizing organic waste and utilizing insects instead of conventional methods, generating by-products generated are fertilizers and/or insect meal.

1. Climate change mitigation: By converting organic waste into a renewable feedstock and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we will contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. As our technology is implemented on a large scale, the release of substantial amounts of methane and other greenhouse gases will be avoided, helping to reduce global warming and its associated impacts.

2. Circular economy and sustainability: Our solution will foster the adoption of circular economy practices in the agri-food industry by converting organic waste into high-value-added products. By integrating our technology into the processes of these companies, waste generation will be reduced, and organic waste will be utilized as renewable resources. This will not only contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills but will also generate economic benefits by creating an additional source of income through waste valorization. By promoting the circular economy in the agri-food sector, we will drive a more sustainable and efficient model, where waste becomes an opportunity for the creation of new products and the reduction of environmental impact.

3. Innovation and development of sustainable proteins: As our technology expands, we will drive innovation and the development of sustainable products in various industries. Functional ingredients, vaccines, industrial enzymes, and biomaterials produced from our processes will have a positive impact on the food, pharmaceutical, electronics, textile industries, and more. These sustainable products will help address global challenges, Improve people's quality of life, and increase the profit margins of our clients.

ByBug Farms has an integrated IoT sensor system that allows quantifying both the amount of organic waste entering for valorization and the greenhouse gas emissions emitted. By comparing these emissions with the emissions from untreated organic waste, a reduction delta of greenhouse gases can be calculated, estimated at 2.9 tons of CO2 equivalent.

In the case of licensing the technology for the production of recombinant proteins to black soldier fly intensive breeding companies, an estimation can be made of the quantification of treated organic waste and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions based on the data provided by the licensee during audits for royalty payments related to technology transfer.

Finally, each product derived from a recombinant protein produced through our technology will have different impact parameters. In the case of the immunostimulant for the aquaculture industry, for example, it is possible to determine an equivalence in terms of the reduction of antibiotic use in aquaculture crops for each kilogram applied.

ByBug Synthetics is a technological platform for the production of recombinant proteins for industrial use. It utilizes genetically modified black soldier fly (BSF) larvae to convert organic waste into recombinant proteins, such as animal vaccines or industrial enzymes, through a carbon-negative process. The primary focus is on proteins associated with functional ingredients and animal health. This recombinant protein production system can be scaled using the existing CAPEX of intensive BSF breeding companies. Our patented technology, By-ReMOT, involves genetically modifying gametes from adult females, increasing transformation efficiency compared to traditional methods like egg microinjection.

The first product to be scaled using this technology is an oral immunostimulant protein for salmon developed by our partner Aquit. Currently, this protein is produced in yeast bioreactors and then must be purified. Through ByBug Synthetic, it is directly integrated into insect meal, reducing costs and allowing for direct implementation in feed.

Key Features:

1. Reduced production costs: By utilizing organic waste from various sources as a substrate, ByBug can reduce costs associated with acquiring conventional substrates for bioreactors. Additionally, by optimizing protein characteristics through bioinformatics and deep learning, we can use the protein directly as a product of insect meal or oil, decreasing purification costs, which account for approximately 80% of total production costs.
2. Scalability and production capacity: By relying on intensive insect farming, ByBug offers significant scalability due to existing infrastructure and the rapid growth of this industry, which currently has a capacity 100 times greater than bioreactors. This enables large-scale production of recombinant proteins, meeting unmet demand not covered by the bioreactor market. Furthermore, with our ByReMOT control technique, we increase the transformation rate compared to "Gold Standard" techniques like microinjection.
3. Reduced environmental impact: ByBug contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the overall environmental impact of recombinant protein production by valorizing organic waste and utilizing BSF instead of conventional methods, resulting in a waste-free process that produces fertilizers and/or insect meal.

13 full-time.

3 years.

1. José Del Solar, CEO of ByBug, is a biotechnology engineer with over 4 years of experience leading startups in recombinant protein production. He interned at the Biomedical Molecular Immunology laboratory at PUC, where he worked on the production of viral recombinant proteins (PR). He has completed The Power MBA's Future Leaders program and serves as an entrepreneurship professor in biotechnology at UNAB.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsb/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead the technical-commercial validation process, establish partnerships with major companies, close financing rounds, and ensure the achievement of the company's strategic objectives.

2. Gerardo Bluske, CBO of ByBug is an industrial engineer and MBA with over 10 years of experience in international business development. He has worked in multinational companies such as Coca-Cola and Fiat in negotiation roles for over 8 years. In the last 5 years, he has focused on his own ventures in the retail and whosale sector. His experience includes strategic product definition, negotiation with international suppliers, and the development and management of a portfolio of over 60 active clients.
Gerardo has developed strong skills in scaling businesses internationally and managing legal and regulatory aspects.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardobluske/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead the development of growth and international expansion strategies, establish technology transfer agreements and product co-development, and handle legal and regulatory aspects to ensure the achievement of ByBug's commercial objectives.

3. Rocío Espinosa, COO, is a preventive restorer with over 7 years of experience in managing B2B and B2G projects. She has worked in various settings, including non-governmental organizations, private companies, and public institutions, which has allowed her to acquire extensive experience in communication, organization, and teamwork. Her ability to communicate and lead different people has been crucial for the success of projects, earning outstanding ratings and positive client feedback.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocio-espinosa-torres-29bb04202/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Efficiently coordinate projects, ensure quality and adherence to established timelines, lead multidisciplinary teams, and ensure compliance with management standards in project implementation.

4. Daniel Troncoso, CTO, is a biotechnology engineer with over 8 years of experience in agrobiotechnology. His background includes being a co-founder of Fungifood, an R&D company focused on edible mushroom products, and Fungidrink, a spinoff of Fungifood where he developed fermentation processes with multicellular fungi. Additionally, as a co-founder of The Earth Says, he gained experience in agricultural marketing, R&D, crop management, and patent drafting. He worked for 2 years at Deep Science Ventures, where he developed projects in molecular biology with insects and conducted market research on insects worldwide, establishing connections with international investors. He also has extensive knowledge in team management and is certified in Scrum.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dtroncosoe/
Role in relation to critical roadmap milestones: Lead research and development of new recombinant proteins, optimize BSF egg production, develop protein purification systems, and establish and execute intellectual property strategies in collaboration with legal firms.