Ginkgo Bioworks
🧟 ZombieTrust Size
$1.7B
Peak Price
$14.96
Current Price
$0.25
Return
-97.5%
Peak Market Cap
$24.0B
What Happened
Synthetic biology company that programs cells to produce chemicals. One of the largest SPACs ever at $17.5B valuation. Stock crashed 97% as revenue was largely from related-party deals.
Ginkgo Bioworks merged with Soaring Eagle Acquisition in September 2021 — one of the largest SPAC deals ever at $17.5B enterprise value. The company builds a "cell programming" platform for biotech, agriculture, and pharma. It attracted top scientists and ARK Invest loaded up. But investigative reporting revealed that a huge portion of Ginkgos revenue came from companies it had equity stakes in — essentially circular transactions. The stock crashed from $15 to $0.25 as the business model unraveled. Did a 1:40 reverse split in 2024.
Projections vs. Reality
Projected Revenue
$1.0B
What they told investors
Actual Revenue
$249M
What actually happened
Hype-to-Reality Ratio: 25.0x
Key People
Jason Kelly
CEO & Co-founder
MIT synthetic biology PhD
Tom Knight
Co-founder
MIT computing legend who pivoted to biology
Timeline
2021-05
SPAC merger announced at $17.5B
2021-09
Merger completed
2022-06
Related-party revenue concerns emerge
2023-09
Stock below $1
2024-03
1:40 reverse split
🔀 Reverse Stock Split
Reverse split ratio: 1:40. Reverse splits are used to avoid delisting but destroy shareholder value through the illusion of a higher stock price.
⚖️ Legal Actions
• Class action lawsuit filed by shareholders
📄 SEC Filings
View all EDGAR filings for Ginkgo Bioworks
Risk Scores
Dilution Score
78/100
Insider Profit Index
72/100
Hype-to-Reality Ratio
25.0x
Projected ÷ actual revenue