Entrepreneurship

Overview
Market Gap
Feasibility and Scalability
Developmental Plans
Skills, Capabilities, and Stakeholders
Long-Term Analysis

Overview

We recognize that iGEM projects have tremendous potential, but without proper implementation into a viable product, they remain mere ideals. With this in mind, our team emphasized developing an entrepreneurial plan to share our idea with the world. We engaged with stakeholders and experts to gain insights into the complexities of launching a start-up and navigating the market. On this page, you will find a summary of those ideas, outlining our strategy to capitalize on nuCloud DNA storage solution and bring it to the market.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to advance data storage through synthetic biology, leveraging DNA’s efficiency and stability. We aim to pioneer a compact, energy-efficient platform ensuring secure, long-term data preservation solutions that surpass current technologies and address global data storage and transfer needs, while prioritizing our stakeholders.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to make DNA storage accessible to everyone, transforming how information is preserved and transported. We aim to lead the advancement of data storage through synthetic biology, ensuring efficient, stable, and sustainable solutions. We are committed to incorporating stakeholder feedback to continuously improve and innovate, ensuring our technology meets the needs and expectations of our community.

Market Gap

Problem Statement & Unique Value Proposition

The Issue

As we transition into the zettabyte era, the existing data storage infrastructure, predominantly reliant on cloud storage and large data centers, seems unable to meet our environmental, efficiency, and spatial needs. These technologies face critical challenges: limited durability, physical constraints on storage density, rising security threats, and escalating costs¹,²,³,⁴,⁵,⁶. Moreover, the environmental impact of these is significant, they incur high energy and water consumption as well as problematic recycling issues contributing to the e-waste crisis.

Our Proposition

To address these pressing issues, we propose an approach to data storage through the use of synthetic biology. Our project, nuCloud, aims to develop a sustainable, high-capacity data storage medium by harnessing the power of DNA. DNA, being a highly stable molecule and based on a quaternary system, provides a long-term storage solution that minimizes energy use compared to traditional methods and reduces electronic waste.

We are focusing on two main tracks: the creation of an enzymatic DNA synthesis platform and a robust data encoding/decoding pipeline. Our approach leverages mutant terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) for template-independent DNA synthesis, which will be conducted on a solid-phase synthesis (SPS) platform. By using a thermostable version of TdT (ThTdT) and integrating advanced error correction methods, we aim to overcome the limitations of existing DNA storage technologies.

We envision a future where data is stored in a sustainable yet efficient format, addressing both current and future storage challenges. For more information, please check our Project Description page.

Our Customers and Market

The Market

The DNA data storage market is experiencing robust growth, reflecting a shift towards more efficient and scalable data management solutions. In 2023, the market size was valued at approximately USD 105 million, with projections indicating a surge to USD 4.17 billion by 2030. This is spearheaded by a compound annual growth rate of 69.2%⁷.

Despite this, challenges such as high initial costs, slow reading and synthesizing speeds, and the need for standardization remain. Thus, addressing these challenges is crucial for realizing the full potential of DNA data storage⁸.

Potential Consumers

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies: These industries generate and manage massive volumes of clinical data, requiring efficient, secure, and long-term storage solutions. Furthermore, they most likely already have the infrastructure needed to support our product. i.e. sequencing technologies.
Hospitals and Clinics: With the increasing digitalization of medical records and patient data, healthcare providers need secure and reliable long-term storage systems like DNA.
Academic and Government Research Institutes: These organizations often handle extensive datasets related to scientific research and administration. For which, long-term DNA data storage is perfect.
Cloud Service Providers: Given the anticipated dominance of the cloud-based segment in the DNA data storage market⁷, cloud service providers are significant customers. They can leverage DNA storage to offer advanced, scalable storage solutions as part of their cloud infrastructure.
Financial Institutions: Banks and other financial institutions handle vast amounts of sensitive data, including customer information, transaction records, and compliance documents. DNA data storage offers secure, long-term preservation of this critical information.
Information Transfer Clients: Organizations that require high-volume data transfer and storage, can benefit from DNA data storage; they can send huge amounts of data in small DNA tubes with minimal effort.

Competitors

Our competitors’ overarching theme is that they are still looking for funding and are under development. To our knowledge, none are utilizing our TdT enzymatic approach coupled to a microfluidic platform. Below is a table with some of the current players in the industry:

Direct and Indirect Competitors

Table 1: nuCloud’s Competitors

Competitor	Technology	Advantages	Disadvantages	Market Data
Catalog DNA	Uses pre-made oligo nucleotides with enzymes to encode data into DNA (No TdT).	High density: Petabytes of data in a gram of DNA. Massively parallel processing. High Durability at RT.	Base efficiency: Multiple nucleotides per oligo. Data retrieval: Relies on probes, limiting flexibility.	Valuation: $115M Industry: Biotechnology
Biomemory	Bio-digital storage drives for large companies and administrations.	Simple retrieval via mailed cards. Customizable text encoding online.	Slow synthesis (8 hours for 1KB). Data confidentiality concerns. Limited to text data.	Valuation: $15.91M Industry: Database Software
Twist Bioscience	High-density DNA storage with advanced digital microfluidics.	High density and efficiency.	Limited information on specific drawbacks.	Valuation: $2.72B Industry: Biotechnology
Microsoft	Researching DNA storage for integration with cloud infrastructures.	Strong R&D and expertise in cloud technologies.	Still in early research phase; not yet commercialized.	Valuation: $3.18 T Industry: Information Technology
Arctic World Archive (AWA)	Uses piqlFilm for long-term preservation in cold, dark, and dry environments.	Natural cold storage. Zero-carbon footprint. Versatile data types.	Slow access (24 hours). No internet connectivity. High cost (139 Euros per GB). Geographical isolation.	Industry: Data Preservation
Zerras	Optical storage with WORM technology.	Energy-efficient (67% reduction). Low cost per TB for immutable storage.	Less flexible and scalable compared to other solutions.	Industry: Information Technology
Veritas	Enterprise data management software.	Established presence in cloud-based storage and data management.	Focuses on cloud storage; lacks physical preservation options like DNA or optical storage.	Valuation: $7.40B Industry: Database Software

Most of the information on the technology, advantages, and disadvantages was sourced from the companies’ websites. The valuation for Biomemory, Catalog DNA, and Veritas was sourced from PitchBook⁹. The valuation for Microsoft and Twist was gathered from Companies Market Cap¹⁰ and Yahoo Finance¹¹ respectively.

Feasibility and Scalability

Feasibility

Our vision for nuCloud is to establish a universal data storage platform that can serve diverse sectors, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, academia, and even individuals. That said, we are first setting our sights on Canada. Our initial goal is to achieve a market presence that allows us to transition into global markets. To achieve this scalability, we addressed the following areas:

Regulatory Compliance

First and foremost, we want to make sure we are adhering to Canadian regulations concerning biotechnology and data storage. For this purpose, we will reach out to Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Environment Canada, which have joint responsibility to determine that biotechnology-derived products are safe for Canadians and their environment. Health Canada, especially, since they work with international partners to coordinate global approaches to biotechnology regulation¹². We will also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which enforces federal privacy laws that set out the rules for how businesses must handle personal information while pursuing commercial activities¹³.

Gathering Funds and Investors

To effectively scale our nuCloud DNA storage solution, securing adequate funding and attracting investors is critical. Here is a rough outline of the process:

Initial Funding Sources:
- Grants and Scholarships: We will explore grants available for research and technology development, especially those targeting innovations in synthetic biology and environmental innovations. For instance, SDTC, they invest in Canadian companies that are creating jobs while having a real impact on the environment¹⁴.
- University Resources: We will leverage UBC’s resources, such as the UBC’s Venture Founder program¹⁵. This program provides access to funding networks and connections with industry leaders, while also providing mentorship.
Angel Investors, Venture Capital, and Crowdfunding Platforms:
- Venture Capital Firms and Angle Investors: We will target Angel Investors and VC firms that specialize in biotech and technology investments. Some examples in BC are Front Row Ventures and Version One Ventures.
- Equity Crowdfunding: We will consider platforms like SeedInvest or Indiegogo to raise funds from a wider audience.
Partnerships with Industry:
- Collaborative Research and Development: We will look to establish partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and cloud service providers to help us gain co-funding opportunities. These partnerships can also validate our technology and expand our market reach.

Stakeholder Engagement

We believe that fostering positive relationships with stakeholders is the single most important part of initiating a successful company. Such networks help create a strong base for which growth can be built on. Following this logic, we reached out to some stakeholders to get feedback on our project. Please check out our iHP page to see how we implementated their feedback into nuCloud.

Infrastructure Development

After further experiments and evaluations with experts, the team will look to invest in lab facilities and manufacturing capabilities that can handle large-scale enzyme production and DNA synthesis.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis offers a clear framework to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By assessing these factors in relation to our project, we can better understand where nuCloud stands in terms of competitive advantages, potential risks, and areas for growth. Thus with the outlined below, we can better focus our efforts to address certain weaknesses, while taking advantage of our opportunities.

Figure 1: SWOT analysis for nuCloud. Based on the template by (Mira, n.d.)¹⁶

Legal and IP considerations

As a science-based team, it is critical that nuCloud secures intellectual property (IP) rights to safeguard its innovations. Our approach will involve:

Step 1: IP and Trademark Searches To confirm our technology’s uniqueness, we conducted a preliminary IP search:

US11630863B2: Data storage using encoded DNA sequences, where virtual DNA encodes bit sequences¹⁷.
US20230214319A9: High-capacity DNA storage by encoding digital bytes into DNA sequences with added indexing information¹⁸.
CN116249783A: Template-independent nucleic acid synthesis using thermostable enzymes. No data storage approach.¹⁹.
WO2017176541: Enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis using a template-independent polymerase in a fluidic system for stepwise DNA strand elongation²⁰.

None of these explicitly cover thermostable TdT coupled with a microfluidic solid-phase platform. The closest overlap is WO2017176541, which involves template-independent polymerase and stepwise synthesis. We will consult with UBC’s Tech Transfer Office on potential conflicts to avoid IP infringements.

Step 2: Engage with the UBC Tech Transfer Office

UBC’s inventions policy (LR11)²¹ states that the university owns any work developed using its resources. As undergraduate students working in the Hallam Lab, our project likely falls under university research, meaning UBC may have a claim on the IP. Jonathon Jafari iHP highlighted that we might need to talk to UBC’s Tech Transfer Office to clarify our IP status and discuss the possibility of negotiating ownership or revenue-sharing agreements if the project is commercialized.

Step 3: Create an IP Strategy

After gathering insights from the Tech Transfer Office, we will craft an IP strategy, potentially filing a patent for our DNA storage technology. We want to balance the need for protecting our technology and showcasing it to potential investors, so we’ll consider filing a provisional patent to ensure initial protection.

Step 4: Seek Expert Guidance

As Jon advised, we are considering applying to UBC’s Venture Founder program for mentorship. This program will connect us with industry experts to validate our technology and provide further guidance on IP, helping ensure a successful venture launch.

Exit Strategy

If we do decide to go down the entrepreneurial road with nuCloud, we will prioritize options that align with our vision:

Potential Exit Strategies:

Acquisition by Larger Tech or Biotech Firms: If a large biotechnology company or cloud storage provider expresses interest, we may consider an acquisition.
Merger or Strategic Partnership: Another option would be merging with a biotech or data storage company that has complementary technologies. Thus incresing the scope of our operations.

Manufacturing

Mass Production Strategy

To scale nuCloud into a viable product, we will need to develop a manufacturing process that can accommodate our DNA synthesis platform. Our plan for this will focus on:

Enzyme Production: Through our bioreactor designs and collaborations we will look to scale the production of our ThTdT.
Solid-Phase DNA Synthesis: Since our platform relies on solid-phase synthesis (SPS), we will need to partner with manufacturers who have expertise in microfluidic chip design.

Partnerships with Manufacturing Experts:

We would seek manufacturing partners with experience in synthetic biology, DNA synthesis, and microfluidic systems. Potential partners include:

NGen: They bring together advanced manufacturing and technology to drive digital transformation (Canada-based).
Gingko Bioworks: A leader in synthetic biology that could assist with enzyme production scale-up.

Developmental Plans

Business model canvas

Lean Business Model Canvas is a vital tool for businesses as it provides a framework that outlines all the key aspects to consider when selling a product. For us it helped us refine and tailor our business strategy to launch nuCloud successfully.

Lean Canvas

Figure 2: Lean Business Model Canvas for nuCloud. Based on the guide from NeosChronos²² and using the template from Figma²³

Gantt Chart: Milestones and Next Steps

We used the Gantt Chart to provide a visual timeline for our project’s phases and tasks. This tool will helps us remain aligned and accountable throughout the development process as we meet or fall short of milestones.

GANTT Chart

Figure 3: Gantt Chart for nuCloud. Based on the template by Vertex42²⁴

Risk assessment

The Risk Assessment matrix bellow systematically identies, evaluates, and prioritizes potential risks that could hinder nuCloud’s progress. Given the nature of our project this is particularly of interest since we are entering a sector which is still emerging and speculative.

Table 2: Risk Assesment Matrix for nuCloud.

Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
Market Risk: Insufficient demand for DNA data storage	Medium	High	Conduct thorough market research and adapt to feedback from pilot projects
Technological Risk: Challenges in scaling DNA synthesis	High	High	Partner with biotech firms and invest in automation technologies
Financial Risk: Delayed or insufficient funding	Medium	High	Diversify funding sources (grants, partnerships, VCs) and manage cash flow.
Operational Risk: Delays in bioreactor and prototype development	Medium	Medium	Implement a solid development strategy and constant performance reviews
Legal Risk: Intellectual property disputes	Low	Medium	Secure patent protection and legal counsel early on
Environmental Risk: Regulatory challenges related to bioengineering	Medium	Medium	Engage with regulatory bodies early and focus on sustainability certifications

Skills, Capabilities, and Stakeholders

Our team

Organizational Chart

The current organization chart is based on the current roles of our members. This is an initial draft, which is subject to change.

Organizational Char

Figure 4: nuCloud’s Organizational Chart for nuCloud.

Learn more about our team on our Members page.

Skill Gap Analysis

The Skill Gap Analysis outlines the specific expertises and competentcies we currently meet or lack as a team. The goal of this tool is to visualize the gap between where we are and where we have to be to succesfully perform the tasks outlined in the Gantt Chart. This proactive approach minimizes risks and maximizes milestone completion.

Table 3: nuCloud’s Skill Gap Analysis.

Task	Core Skills Needed	Current State	Proposed Solution
Market research and customer engagement	Market analysis, communication, negotiation	Limited to non-specialized member’s research.	Hiring
Thermostable TdT-based DNA synthesis development	Enzyme engineering and optimization expertise, and template-independent polymerase expertise.	Undergrad members with related degrees and experience with optimization.	Training, mentorship, and partnerships.
Bioreactor and microfluidcs design and prototyping	Microfluidics and automation skills.	Members with bioengineering experience.	Training, collaborations, and partnerships.
Data encoding and error correction algorithm development	Software development, bioinformatics, data science	Members with ample experience with software development	Training.
Outreach, social media, and feedback collection	Stakeholder engagement, project management	Some members with social media management and outreach experience.	Hiring.
Financial feasibility and cost analysis	Financial modeling, budgeting, investment strategies	Couple of members with some finance experience.	Hiring.
IP and legal considerations	Patent law, intellectual property management	Limited to non-specialized member’s research.	Incubator programs.
Investor engagement and business development	Pitching, venture capital, startup strategy	None	Incubator programs

Stakeholders

Value Chain Analysis and Stakeholders

The Value Chain Analysis helps us identify the main activities that add value to nuCloud, from R&D to production and customer engagement.

Value Chain Analysis

Figure 5: Value Chain Analysis for nuCloud.

Stakeholder Roles and Engagement Strategy

Accordingly, we aim to have a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy to ensure each stakeholder is properly addressed according to their role and influence. Thus maximizing effective collaboration and fostering lasting partnerships.

Cloud Storage Providers, Hospitals, Governments, and other Customers

These stakeholders have high power and influence as potential end-users and partners for commercial storage solutions. We will engage through pilot projects, personalized prototypes, and feedback sessions to build strong, long-term partnerships and ensure product alignment with their needs.
Universities/Research Institutes

High power and influence due to potential collaborations on R&D initiatives, joint funding applications, access to advanced facilities, and boost credibility through co-authorship and technology commercialization.
Environmental Organizations

These stakeholders have moderate influence and low power since we would only work with them to certify the sustainability of our technology.
Investors

Investors are key for providing the financial resources needed for scaling, thus they have high power and influence. We will have constant communication: providing regular updates, investor reports, and meetings to secure funding and build investor confidence. We plan on approaching them through the channels mentioned in the previous sections.
Manufacturing Partners

Manufacturing partners hold high power and influence in scaling production. We will have to develop contracts that ensure quality control with regular communication, performance reviews, and close supply chain management to meet intial production goals effectively.

Events, iHP, and Future Programs

We attended the iGEM Start-ups Summer School to learn what was expected of an iGEM team in terms of Entrepreneurship. This experience was very helpful since we were able to understand key areas that we should focus on highlighting that we were lacking in terms of nuCloud’s story and entrepreneurial characteristics. For more information on our experience, please check out our iGEM Start-ups Summer School section in the iHP page.

certificate

Figure 6: nuCloud’s iGEM Start-ups Summer School certificate.

Additionally, we reached out to some people to further our insights into what results in a successful entrepreneurial plan:

Jonathon Jafari: We spoke to Jonathon Jafari from entrepreneurship@UBC to discuss the process of launching a start-up with a product created at UBC. He gave us insight into the resources and programs UBC has for student-led initiatives like ours as well as legal advice. For more check our documentation in the iHP page.
Nikita Telkar: Nikita is part of the investment team at Front Row Ventures. She guided us by emphasizing the importance of using metrics that illustrate substantial savings for potential customers, particularly those with limited funding. She highlighted the need to clearly articulate the financial value of our product in terms of reusable components, ensuring that it presents a compelling investment opportunity. Furthermore, Nikita encouraged us to differentiate our product from existing market options by showcasing unique features that enhance ease of use and affordability and to consider factors such as potential customer adoption and retention rates.

In this entrepreneurial plan, we’ve emphasized that the first step toward turning this project into a viable start-up is applying to incubator programs. Below are some of the programs we’ve considered:

UBC’s Venture Founder program: Supports UBC’s community build innovative ventures to solve critical and often global problems.
Antler Canada: An early-stage global venture capitalist firm that builds technology companies.
Quark Venture: A Vancouver-based venture capitalist firm focused on biotech and life sciences companies.
CTI Life Sciences Fund: Montreal-based venture capital focused on biotech companies.
Genesys Capital: Focused on building companies in sectors like healthcare and biotechnology.
Venture Acceleration Program: Helps B.C. tech entrepreneurs accelerate defining a proven business model.

Long-Term Analysis

Our project, nuCloud, holds the potential to innovate data storage through synthetic biology, resulting in benefits in sustainability, capacity, and cost-effectiveness of long-term data storage. That being said, our project has so much more to contribute to our stakeholders. Here we mention some of the potential impacts of our project’s implementation:

Direct Impacts

Better long-term Data Storage: Due to DNA’s ability to store vast amounts of data our platform could increase global data storage capacity compared to traditional methods. Moreover, DNA can remain stable for millions of years, allowing for the secure storage of historical data without degradation. Learn more on Project Description.
Increased sustainability: Transitioning from energy-intensive data centers to DNA-based storage systems can significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with data storage. Furthermore, DNA storage systems require less water than traditional data centers, leading to a reduced environmental impact on water resources. Learn more on Sustainable Development Goals.
Cost Efficiency: As the cost of DNA synthesis decreases, DNA could become cheaper compared to traditional long-term storage like SSDs and HDDs. Learn more on Project Description.
Enhanced Data Security: DNA’s physical nature serves as a security control thus increasing the security of that long-term data as it can’t be hacked. Learn more on Data Security.

Indirect Impacts

Accessibility of Technology: The potential affordability of our platform alongside the modular bioreactor and microfluidic chip system can democratize access to DNA synthesis technology, allowing smaller organizations and communities to utilize synthetic biology solutions.
Improved Public Awareness of Synthetic Biology: As the public engages with synthetic biology in their day-to-day lives, the negative outlook towards GMOs and other related terms will slowly dissipate.
Impact on Data Management Practices: As organizations adopt DNA-based storage, this could shift industry standards and practices regarding data management, impacting how data is stored, accessed, and preserved.

NOTE: The full Entrepreneurial plan as a pdf can be found below.