- Biomemory has unveiled DNA Shield, designed to provide offline, airgapped, secure storage of critical digital assets in synthetic DNA
- The company foresees challenges to the resilience those assets (also known as “cold data”) and has hinted at the introduction of what it calls Molecular IT
- Biomemory is a co-chair of the DNA Data Storage Alliance
Commercial DNA data storage company Biomemory has unveiled DNA Shield, a purpose-built synthetic DNA repository service that ensures critical digital assets remain untouched by cyber criminals and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
So-called cold data comprises 60% of all data in the world, and refers to information that cannot be altered. This might be passwords and biometrics or it could be incontrovertible data, facts, finances, and other material that serves as a record.
DNA Shield stores data in DNA, using an engineered encoding scheme that ensures it is biosecure – it’s a physical molecule that stores information long-term without power. Pilot slots have opened, ahead of a full service expected in 2027.
A shield of DNA
Biomemory has launched DNA Shield off the back of its acquisition of Boston-based DNA storage pioneer Catalog Technologies in March 2026, and aims to provide organizations with DNA storage of data.
Data could be biometric, it could be cryptographic keys, or it could be accounts. It might even be intellectual property, blueprints, unique or proprietary knowledge. Encrypting the data into synthetic DNA and storing as a medium that a million times denser than magnetic storage, offline and airgapped, is arguably the most secure storage available, potentially with a 150-year lifespan.
"DNA Shield is the moment Biomemory moves from proving a science to delivering a commercial product," notes Laurent Guengant, CEO of Biomemory. "Organizations need a way to hold their most critical digital assets, cryptographic keys, core intellectual property, regulated records, and long-term institutional memory, somewhere no single vendor, cloud, or system can reach, and to prove it still works over time.”
The molecular IT platform
Availability of the DNA Shield service is currently limited to a few pilots, running from October 15 2026 through to mid 2027. Biomemory tells us that a full service will proceed after that point, and its launch makes them the first company to launch a molecular IT product.
Vincent Franceschini, Vice President of Product Management at Biomemory and co-chair of the DNA Data Storage Alliance, said, "DNA Shield is built on the same molecular platform we have spent years industrializing, but it is the first time we are asking a customer to rely on it operationally rather than as a research demonstration. Getting that right, end to end, from encoding to authorized recovery, is what makes us the first company bringing Molecular IT to market."
Organizations interested in DNA Shield will be paying a subscription that starts at €10,000/month, and early access applications are open directly via Biomemory.