# Pembient

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**Pembient** is a biotech company in [Seattle](/source/Seattle), Washington, United States that was founded with the goal of creating [bioengineered](/source/Biological_engineering) wildlife products to fight [poaching](/source/Poaching) around the world.

## History

Pembient was founded in January 2015 by Matthew Markus and George Bonaci.[1][2] Markus and Bonaci discussed the possibility of [reverse engineering](/source/Reverse_engineering) and bioengineering wildlife products specifically rhino horn.[3] Markus first thought of reverse engineering rhino horn 10 years ago when he read of the severity of the [black market](/source/Black_market) poaching industry, 1,200 [rhinos](/source/Rhinoceros) were killed in South Africa in 2014,[4] and the [western black rhinos](/source/Western_black_rhinoceros) were declared [extinct](/source/Extinction) by the [International Union for Conservation of Nature](/source/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature) (IUCN).[5] January 2015, it was announced that Pembient had been admitted to the inaugural class of Indiebio in San Francisco, a three-month business accelerator program awarding $50,000 and mentoring to biotech start-ups using [synthetic biology](/source/Synthetic_biology).[6]

In August 2017 Pembient launched its [initial coin offering](/source/Initial_coin_offering) of PembiCoin which is a blockchain-based token that allows its holder to take delivery of one gram of biofabricated horn in the year 2022.[7] As of 2018, the company was continuing their plan to flood the market with synthetic rhino horn to help end poaching.[7]

## Mission

The goal of the company is to bioengineer rhino horn and [elephant](/source/Elephant) [ivory](/source/Ivory) tusks replacement products below the black market price in order to stop the threat to [endangered species](/source/Endangered_species).[8][9] One of their current projects is the creation of a synthetic rhino horn using techniques that replicate rhino DNA.[10] Bonaci has stated that even though they are focused on one biochemical product, "Maybe in the future we'll do [tissue engineering](/source/Tissue_engineering)[or] whatever works for the market."[11]

## References

1. Buhr, Sarah (2015-04-27). ["Biotech Startup Pembient Is Making Rhino Horns, Sans Rhino"](https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/27/cuzscience/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. ["Synthetics Won't Save Rhinos, Say Conservationists | African Wildlife Foundation"](https://www.awf.org/news/synthetics-wont-save-rhinos-say-conservationists). *www.awf.org*. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. ["Baby Rhinos are Being Poached Can 3D-Printers Save Them"](http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/25/baby-rhinos-are-being-poached-can-3D-Printers-save-them). Takepart.com. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. Vaughan, Adam (22 January 2015). ["Record Number Rhinos Killed South Africa 2014"](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/22/record-number-rhinos-killed-south-africa-2014). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. ["Western black rhino declared extinct"](https://web.archive.org/web/20111213205648/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/africa/rhino-extinct-species-report/). CNN. Archived from [the original](http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/africa/rhino-extinct-species-report/) on 2011-12-13. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. ["Pembient, Purveyor of Bioengineered Rhino Horn, is Admitted to IndieBio Accelerator"](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pembient-purveyor-of-bioengineered-rhino-horn-is-admitted-to-indiebio-accelerator-300026480.html). PR Newswire. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. Berke, Jeremy. ["A biotech startup is trying to end poaching by flooding the market with fake rhino horns"](https://www.businessinsider.com/biotech-startup-trying-to-stop-rhino-poaching-2016-9). *Business Insider*. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. ["3R Printed Rhino Horns"](http://3dprint.com/47469/3d-printed-rhino-horns/). 26 February 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. ["IndieBio Will Accelerate Synthetic Biology To Tech Startup Speed"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2015/02/20/indiebio-will-accelerate-synthetic-biology-to-tech-startup-speed/2/). *Forbes*. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. ["This startup wants to bioengineer faux rhino horn, end illegal poaching trade"](http://www.geekwire.com/2015/startup-wants-bioengineer-faux-rhino-horn-end-illegal-poaching-trade/). Retrieved 13 May 2015.

1. ["Egg Whites, Rhino Horns, And Stem Cells: IndieBio's Plan To Bioengineer A Better World"](http://m.fastcompany.com/3044581/egg-whites-rhino-horns-and-stem-cells-indiebios-plan-to-bioengineer-a-better-world/). *Fast Company*. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pembient](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembient) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembient?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.