TL;DR: If you are replacing Living Carbon, the closest options are Boost Biomes, ThereCraft, Modular Science. The table below compares 12 alternatives on what they do, stage, size and status.
Every alternative below is compared on what it actually does, not just its category — so you can see which one genuinely replaces Living Carbon (YC Winter 2020).
Last verified:
The three closest alternatives to Living Carbon are:
| Alternative | What it does | Stage | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boost Biomes | — | YC Summer 2019 | 12 | Inactive |
| ThereCraft | — | YC Summer 2017 | 1 | Active |
| Modular Science | We're making it easier to do sustainable farming. | YC Summer 2017 | — | Inactive |
| Birch Biosciences | We recycle plastic using engineered enzymes | YC Summer 2022 | 10 | Active |
| Genecis Bio | Makes guilt-free plastics from food waste | YC Winter 2020 | 30 | Active |
| 1849 bio | Engineering microbes for miners to unlock billions in trapped metal | YC Summer 2024 | 3 | Active |
| Micro Meat | Technologies for scaling up cultured/clean meat production | YC Summer 2021 | — | Inactive |
| Alga Biosciences | We stop cows from burping methane. | YC Winter 2022 | 6 | Active |
| Molagri | Resistance free pesticides. | YC Summer 2026 | 4 | Active |
| Iron Grid | Foundational models for risk and quality. | YC Summer 2025 | 2 | Active |
| Ohmic Biosciences | Genetically engineering plants for disease resistance. | YC Summer 2023 | 2 | Active |
| Daedalus | AWS for precision manufacturing | YC Winter 2020 | 7 | Active |
It depends on your size. Boost Biomes is the closest match on what Living Carbon actually does. If you need something more established, sort the table by team size — larger teams generally mean more support and a longer track record. If budget is the constraint, the earlier-batch companies are usually the ones still competing on price.
Living Carbon is still operating, so switching is a choice rather than a forced migration. Compare on fit and price rather than urgency.
Every company here is Y Combinator-backed and was matched to Living Carbon on what it actually does — its own description of its product — rather than on a broad category label. Batch, team size and operating status come from the YC directory and are shown as-is. We do not rank by payment.
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