Praio

Praio is pioneering the next generation of biomanufacturing through artificial protocells—synthetic, bio-inspired structures that mimic the earliest precursors to living cells. Built from inexpensive, commercially available polymers, our protocells self-assemble to create highly efficient microenvironments that concentrate enzymes, enhance reaction rates, and broaden operating conditions, including in non-aqueous solvents. Unlike cells, which evolved for survival and reproduction, our protocells are purpose-built for catalysis—shedding biological complexity while preserving nature’s compartmentalization and efficiency. This enables a new design space for biomanufacturing that is modular, programmable, and resilient—offering an intermediate ground between traditional whole-cell and cell-free approaches. Praio’s platform can reduce enzyme usage, increase throughput, and enable reactions that are difficult in conventional systems, opening new possibilities for the production of commodity and specialty chemicals. Our early focus includes specialty chemical production, but our technology is broadly applicable across sustainable fuels, flavors, fragrances, and pharmaceutical intermediates production. Whether you're looking to enhance your enzyme performance, enable new biotransformations, or explore distributed and on-demand chemical production, we’d love to connect. Join us in reimagining biomanufacturing—faster, simpler, and inspired by nature.