A New Turning Point in Synthetic Biology: AI Integration and Market Innovation in the Biotech Industry by 2025
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The Fusion of AI and Synthetic Biology: The Dawn of a New Bio-Revolution
As of December 2025, the field of synthetic biology is experiencing an unprecedented transformation through its integration with artificial intelligence. The global synthetic biology market grew by 20.5%, from approximately $39 billion in 2024 to $47 billion in 2025, primarily due to AI-based protein design platforms and the development of automated biological systems. Next-generation protein prediction models, emerging alongside the commercialization of AlphaFold3, are fundamentally altering the drug development process. Ginkgo Bioworks, based in Boston, USA, demonstrated the commercial success of AI-based biological design platforms by recording a 185% increase in revenue to $124 million in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year.
Korean biotech companies are actively participating in this global trend. Samsung Biologics, based in Incheon, announced the release of its AI-based cell line development platform ‘Bio-AI 2.0’ in the second half of 2025, claiming a 40% improvement in biopharmaceutical production efficiency compared to previous methods. This platform uses machine learning algorithms to select optimal cell lines and provides real-time optimization of production conditions. Similarly, Celltrion, located in Songdo, announced plans to invest 120 billion won annually in AI-based antibody design technology to develop 15 new biosimilar candidates by 2026.
Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, introduced a language model based on ChatGPT-4o for mRNA vaccine development in 2025, reducing the vaccine development time for new virus variants from six months to three weeks. This innovation is being applied not only to pandemic response but also to the development of personalized cancer treatments. Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, mRNA-4157, demonstrated a progression-free survival rate of 85% in Phase 3 clinical trials in 2025, proving significantly more effective than existing immunotherapies.
Changes in Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape
The competitive landscape of the synthetic biology market is becoming increasingly complex as the boundaries between traditional pharmaceutical companies, biotech startups, and tech companies blur. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, officially entered the synthetic biology field in 2025 by launching ‘BioDesign Studio’ through DeepMind. This platform offers AI-based molecular design services to pharmaceutical companies for an annual subscription fee of $500,000 and achieved the subscription of 47 global pharmaceutical companies within six months of its launch. Notably, big pharma companies like Novartis, Roche, and Pfizer are reallocating over 30% of their R&D budgets to AI-based platforms, rapidly transforming the traditional lab-centric research paradigm.
Meanwhile, Zymergen, based in Emeryville, California (now acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks), developed an automated biology platform that designed and tested 1,200 new microbial strains in the first half of 2025 alone. This process is 100 times faster than traditional methods, significantly reducing industrial enzyme production costs from $15 per kg to $3 per kg. Such improvements in cost efficiency are greatly enhancing the competitiveness of the biofuel, bioplastic, and eco-friendly chemical product markets.
In Korea, Ildong Pharmaceutical, based in Seoul, is gaining attention by discovering three Alzheimer’s treatment candidates through its AI-based drug development subsidiary ‘Bio AI Lab.’ The company expanded its R&D budget by 85% to 34 billion won in 2025, investing 60% of it in building AI platforms. Notably, it introduced molecular optimization technology using large language models (LLM) for the first time in Korea, reducing the preclinical phase from six years to two years.
Asian biotech companies such as China’s BGI Genomics and WuXi AppTec are also expanding their market share through aggressive AI investments. In particular, BGI significantly reduced the cost of genomic analysis from $1,000 to $100 through its self-developed ‘Gene-GPT’ platform in 2025, leading the democratization of the personalized medicine market. Based on this price competitiveness, BGI is experiencing rapid growth in Southeast Asia and Africa, with overseas sales accounting for 65% of its total revenue in 2025, establishing itself as a global company.
Venture capital investment trends show that global investment in the synthetic biology sector increased by 40% to $7.8 billion in 2025 compared to the previous year. Companies with AI integration technologies accounted for 72% of the total investment, indicating a sharp shift in investor interest from traditional biotech to tech-bio. The average size of seed-stage investments increased from $5 million to $12 million, indicating a trend of large-scale capital being injected from the early stages.
Significant changes are also occurring in the regulatory environment. In September 2025, the US FDA finalized the ‘AI-Enabled Drug Development Guidance,’ providing a clear regulatory framework for AI-based drug development. This guideline includes validation standards for AI models, data quality requirements, and clinical trial design principles, greatly reducing industry uncertainty. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also announced the ‘AI-based Medical Device and Drug Development Guidelines’ in November 2025, actively supporting the adoption of AI by domestic biotech companies.
In terms of market segmentation, the personalized medicine sector is experiencing the fastest growth. The global personalized medicine market grew to $680 billion in 2025, with AI-based diagnostic and therapeutic solutions accounting for 35% of the market. In particular, the development of personalized immunotherapies based on individual genomic information is rapidly advancing in the field of cancer treatment. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the US announced clinical results in 2025, showing that AI-based personalized CAR-T cell therapy improved the five-year survival rate of patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 20% to 78%.
Future Outlook and Investment Opportunities
The outlook for the synthetic biology market heading into 2026 is very promising. Market research firm McKinsey predicts that the global synthetic biology market will reach $65 billion by 2026, maintaining an average annual growth rate of 38%. The key drivers of this growth are the continuous advancement of AI technology, the enhancement of automation technology, and improvements in the regulatory environment. In particular, the combination of quantum computing and biology is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of molecular simulations, with full-scale commercialization anticipated to begin in 2026.
From an investment perspective, the most noteworthy area is the automation of bio-manufacturing. As the shortage of skilled biotech research personnel intensifies globally, there is a surging demand for fully automated bio-factories. Novo Nordisk, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, established a fully automated insulin production line in 2025, improving production efficiency by 60% and reducing labor costs by 40%. Based on such success stories, global pharmaceutical companies are significantly expanding their investments in automated bio-manufacturing.
Another major investment opportunity lies in the convergence of biosensors and wearable technology. With the launch of continuous glucose monitoring functionality in the Apple Watch Series 10 in the second half of 2025, the non-invasive biosensor market is experiencing explosive growth. Korea’s i-SENS commercialized technology that predicts blood glucose changes in diabetic patients four hours in advance by developing an AI-based blood glucose prediction algorithm. This technology obtained European CE certification in the fourth quarter of 2025, paving the way for global market entry.
Sustainability and environmental problem-solving are also important growth drivers. Demand for bio-based materials and fuels is surging to address climate change and achieve carbon neutrality goals. DSM-Firmenich, based in Delft, Netherlands, developed a sustainable vitamin production process using microorganisms in 2025, reducing carbon emissions by 80% compared to traditional chemical synthesis methods. Such eco-friendly bio-manufacturing technologies are expected to grow at an average annual rate of 45% over the next five years, alongside the spread of ESG investments.
However, there are significant risks associated with investing in this field. Bias and prediction errors in AI models can lead to drug development failures, resulting in losses of billions of dollars. In fact, in the first half of 2025, the stock price of UK biotech startup Exscientia plummeted by 65% when an AI-designed cancer drug candidate showed lower-than-expected efficacy in Phase 2 clinical trials. Additionally, the potential misuse of biotechnology and concerns about biosecurity remain ongoing risk factors.
Data security and privacy protection are also critical challenges. As the use of sensitive biological information, such as genomic data, increases, concerns about data breaches or misuse are growing. In October 2025, an incident occurred in China where the genetic information of one million individuals was leaked from a genomic analysis company, raising international awareness about bio-data security. Consequently, governments worldwide are strengthening regulations to protect bio-data, and companies must prepare for increased security investment costs.
The convergence of synthetic biology and AI holds the potential to provide innovative solutions to human health and global environmental issues. However, the commercialization and popularization of these technologies require careful consideration of ethical, safety, and economic factors. Investors should establish investment strategies that comprehensively consider technological innovation potential, regulatory risks, market acceptance, and long-term sustainability.
This analysis is provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made at the individual’s discretion and responsibility, and it is advisable to consult with experts before investing.
