Pros
Depending on the team you are on, there are some amazingly fantastic/fun/kind/smart managers and co-workers, and the work can be fairly interesting/compelling/challenging/exciting The aspiration of creating bio-derived products and reducing the carbon footprint of various industries through more efficient production strains is admirable and important.
Cons
Management is generally delusional about the state and trajectory of the business. It's very hard to get straight, transparent answers about strategic direction, project prioritization, and financial health of the company. Especially from the CEO. Egos have been inflated by the relationship with softbank. Very low revenue achieved compared to targets for the last 5 years running. Coupled with an enormous burn rate, this has now resulted in the first wave of layoffs in May 2020. More to come? Who knows? Management seems to be now at the mercy of the board and the fundraising market. Unclear how the history with Softbank will affect ability to raise funds moving forward. Revenue outlook for 2021/2022 not great. The business has a very corporate/process-heavy, slow moving feel to it. The company feels much larger than it actually is. All the stresses of an early stage startup financially speaking, all the bureaucracy of a large corporation. Strange combination. A weird trend of members of upper management giving 0 day notice and quitting. Not sure why this has happened multiple times over the last year. Execs and marketing team claims this is a completely 'biology-first' business. Would be great if they fully lived up to. Company still falls back on chemical synthesis as opposed to biology-derived products in certain cases. This company is likely to become similar to Amyris in years to come.....poor financials, constant dilution, some semi-compelling bio-derived products on the market, but constantly treading water to stay afloat. Definitely not the 'google of synthetic biology'. Numerous programs have been cut in recent months - generally widespread inability to deliver on milestones across the portfolio. Less scientific rigor compared to other biotechs I've worked at. Don't get me wrong, there are a good number of AMAZING scientists here, but overall as a company, this is ~ B+ science. Company has a very silicon valley feel to it - a bit inflated and disconnected from the laws of physics. Though...very good decision to acquire Enevolv (it was absolutely needed) - this may change things a bit, but will take a year or so to tell. I do wish Zymergen all the best of luck. The company unfortunately just took on some bad contracts and heavily mismanaged the growth potential. It will no doubt be a very shaky 1-2 years ahead, but I think there will be a path forward in the longer term.