About Checkerspot
Checkerspot is a Healthcare company based in Oakland (United States) founded in 2016 by Scott Franklin. It operates as a high-performance materials are developed using synthetic biology for diverse applications. It operates in the Healthcare and Chemicals & Materials sectors. Checkerspot has raised $144.03 million across 7 funding rounds from investors including United States Department of Agriculture, Plug and Play Tech Center and DIC Global. Its chief executive is John Krzywicki. Checkerspot offers products and services including Culinary Oil. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Genomics, Applied Genomics and Synthetic Biology. Its legal entity is Checkerspot, Inc. Its competitors include Amyris, GSK, Inscripta, Avidity Biosciences and Pivot Bio and 4 more; 7 of its 9 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Checkerspot was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Oakland, United States, within the biotechnology sector. Advanced biotechnology and chemistry are employed to produce novel materials suited for industrial, medical, and consumer sectors. Genome engineering and synthetic biology techniques are utilized to generate new compounds, which are subsequently processed into materials exhibiting targeted properties for various end uses.
- Headquarters Oakland, United States
- Founders Scott Franklin
- SectorsHealthcareChemicals & Materials
- Website checkerspot.com
- Social LinkedIn X Instagram
- Legal Name Checkerspot, Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$144.03M (USD)
in 7 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$27.43M (USD), Series D
Jul 2026
- InvestorsUnited States Department of Agriculture
& 12 more
Products & Services of Checkerspot
Checkerspot offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Culinary Oil.
Premium oil made from fermented algae for enhanced taste and stability.
Funding Insights of Checkerspot
Checkerspot has successfully raised a total of $144.03M across 7 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series D round of $27.43 million completed in July 2026. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $144.03M
- Total Rounds 7
- Last Round Series D — $27.43M
- First Round $100,000
(Jul 2017)
- Investors Count 13
All 7 funding rounds of Checkerspot with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | $27.43M | Series D | – | – | – |
| Nov 2025 | $7.6M | Series C | – | – | – |
| Sep 2022 | $55M | Series C | – | ArrowMark Partners | |
| May 2020 | $36M | Series B | – | Viking Global Investors | |
| Apr 2019 | $13M | Series A | – | Builders VC | |
| Jun 2018 | $5M | Seed | – | KdT Ventures | |
| Jul 2017 | $100,000 | Grant | – | – |
13 investors in total: 13 institutional.
Investors in Checkerspot
Checkerspot has secured backing from 13 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include United States Department of Agriculture, Plug and Play Tech Center and DIC Global.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Investments are made in technologies that modernize industries like agriculture and construction. | – | builders.vc | - | |
Early-stage investments in science-driven companies are made. | – | breakout.vc | - | |
Private investment firm focused on multiple sectors | – | vikingglobal.com | Greenwich, United States | |
Early-stage investments are made in frontier science ventures. | – | kdtvc.com | Black Mountain, United States | |
Startups are accelerated and invested in across multiple tech sectors. | 2006 | plugandplaytechcenter.com | Sunnyvale, United States | |
Investments in multiple sectors are made by Sahsen Ventures. | – | sahsen.com | Seattle, United States | |
- | – | godfreycapital.tcc.mode | - | |
Seed and early-stage investments are made across US and India. | – | refactor.com | Burlingame, United States | |
Venture capital is provided by Cavallo Ventures in multiple sectors. | – | cavallovc.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Diversified asset management services are provided to investors. | 2007 | arrowmarkpartners.com | Denver, United States |
Investor details for Checkerspot
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Checkerspot
8 people are tracked at Checkerspot (3 in leadership, 5 in board & advisors).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Scott Franklin | Co-Founder & CSO | Leadership |
John Krzywicki | CEO | Leadership |
Charles Dimmler | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Cain McClary | Board Member | Board & advisors |
David Greenwood | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Walter Solomon | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Julia Moore | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Jim Kim | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Complete people profiles for Checkerspot
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Checkerspot
3 dated milestones of Checkerspot across 10 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Checkerspot is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $100K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series D, of $27.4M.
Competitors of Checkerspot
Checkerspot has 9 listed competitors in our database, 7 of them funded. They include Amyris, GSK, Inscripta, Avidity Biosciences and Pivot Bio, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| amyris.com | 2003 | Emeryville, United States | $487.2M | 747 | Developer of renewable products for industrial solutions | |
| gsk.com | 1715 | Brentford, United Kingdom | – | 90,913 | Developer of pharmaceuticals and vaccines for various therapeutic areas | |
| inscripta.io | 2015 | Helsinki, Finland | $853,384 | – | Speech recognition solutions are provided by Inscripta for healthcare professionals. | |
| aviditybiosciences.com | 2012 | San Diego, United States | $142.54M | 253 | Antibody-siRNA complexes are developed for cancer treatment. | |
| pivotbio.com | 2010 | Berkeley, United States | $618.08M | 256 | Nitrogen-fixing microbes for corn crop nutrition are developed and applied. | |
| ginkgobioworks.com | 2008 | Boston, United States | $795.75M | 1,218 | Gene editing-based cultured ingredients are provided for agriculture. | |
| sutrobio.com | 2003 | United States | $171.85M | 235 | Antibody-based therapeutics for cancer therapy are developed via cell-free synthesis. | |
| syngenta.com | 2000 | Basel, Switzerland | – | – | Crop protection solutions and hybrid seeds are provided for farming. | |
| asimov.com | 2017 | Boston, United States | $209.4M | 87 | Provider of integrated suite for advanced genetic design and manufacturing |
Detailed competitors of Checkerspot
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
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Web traffic of Checkerspot
Websites that share an audience with Checkerspot (checkerspot.com).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Checkerspot. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| checkerspotbrewing.com | 100% | – | #6,481,908 | View details |
Top companies in Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Checkerspot (Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases including cancer and infections are developed. | 2010 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 2.78 B | USD 1.94 B | 5,800 | |
Digital sequencing technology for cancer detection is developed. | 2012 | Redwood City, California, United States | USD 557.5 M | USD 982.02 M | 4,867 | |
Circulating tumor DNA is screened for early cancer detection. | 2016 | Menlo Park, California, United States | USD 2 B | USD 147.17 M | 1,141 | |
Nanopore-based electronic systems for single-molecule analysis are developed. | 2005 | Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | USD 1.34 B | USD 301.49 M | 1,372 | |
Provider of genetic test solutions to study ancestry, genealogy, and inherited traits | 2006 | Sunnyvale, California, United States | USD 943.53 M | USD 189.9 M | 562 | |
Provider of DNA testing services to create a family tree and ancestor | 2003 | Yehud, Central District, Israel | USD 40 M | – | – | |
Genetically modified cell lines are developed using AAV gene-editing platform. | 2007 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom | USD 46.29 M | – | – | |
Gene therapies for rare diseases including retinal dystrophies are developed. | 2013 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | USD 82.8 M | USD 64.73 M | 822 | |
Therapeutics for genetic diseases are developed through targeted interventions. | 2015 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 434.2 M | USD 502.08 M | 730 | |
Provider of an online genealogy platform offering a host of services | 1996 | Lehi, Utah, United States | USD 146.2 M | – | – |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Checkerspot
Checkerspot was founded in 2016 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Checkerspot is headquartered in Oakland, United States. It is registered at Oakland, California, United States.
John Krzywicki is the current CEO of Checkerspot.
Checkerspot is a funded company, having raised a total of $144.03M across 7 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Grant of $100K, raised on Jul 2017.
Checkerspot was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Oakland, United States, within the biotechnology sector. Advanced biotechnology and chemistry are employed to produce novel materials suited for industrial, medical, and consumer sectors. Genome engineering and synthetic biology techniques are utilized to generate new compounds, which are subsequently processed into materials exhibiting targeted properties for various end uses.
Checkerspot's top competitors include Syngenta, Sutro Biopharma and Avidity Biosciences.
Checkerspot offers Culinary Oil.
Checkerspot has 13 investors. Key investors include United States Department of Agriculture, Plug and Play Tech Center, DIC Global, ArrowMark Partners, and Cox Enterprises.
Checkerspot operates through Checkerspot, Inc..