Welcome to the Zymergen Securities Litigation Website

If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares of common stock of Zymergen Inc. pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with Zymergen Inc.’s April 2021 initial public offering, a class action lawsuit may affect your rights.

The purpose of this website is to inform you of a class action lawsuit now pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) against Zymergen Inc. (“Zymergen”), Individual Defendants Josh Hoffman, Enakshi Singh, Steven Chu, Jay T. Flatley, Christine M. Gorianc, Travis Murdoch, Matthew A. Ocko, Sandra E. Peterson, Zach Serber, and Rohit Sharma, and Underwriter Defendants J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., UBS Securities LLC, and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC (collectively “Defendants”). This website is intended only to advise you that the action has been certified by the Court to proceed as a class action on behalf of certain purchasers of Zymergen common stock, and to advise you of your rights with respect to the lawsuit.

The Court has not decided whether Defendants did anything wrong, and the Notice of Pendency of Class Action ("Notice") is not an admission by Defendants or an expression of any opinion of the Court concerning the merits of the lawsuit, or a finding by the Court that the claims asserted by Class Representative Biao Wang in this case are valid. There is no settlement or monetary recovery at this time, and there is no guarantee there will be any recovery. However, your legal rights are affected.

The Court decided that this lawsuit can proceed as a class action because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in federal district courts. Specifically, the Court found that a significant number of investors purchased Zymergen common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (“Registration Statement”) issued in connection with Zymergen’s April 2021 initial public offering and that the claims asserted in the lawsuit are common enough to apply to all of those investors.

You may have legal rights and options to exercise before the Court decides who wins the case. The Honorable P. Casey Pitts of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is titled Biao Wang v. Zymergen Inc., et al., No. 21-cv-06028-PCP.

THE NATURE OF THE LAWSUIT

The Complaint alleges that Zymergen sold approximately 18.5 million shares of common stock and raised $575 million in its April 2021 initial public offering pursuant to the Registration Statement, which allegedly contained material misrepresentations and omissions in violation of §§11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”). The Complaint also alleges that the Registration Statement contained material misrepresentations and omissions concerning, among other things, the Company’s biofacturing platform and its ability to create better products faster, cheaper, and more sustainably; the product development process and status of 11 products in the Company’s product pipeline; the market opportunity for those products; and when those products would generate revenue. Lead Plaintiff alleges that the truth was publicly disclosed by Zymergen, including in August and November 2021, when Zymergen announced downward revision to expected revenue, delays and cancellations in its product pipeline, and smaller opportunities for its products, as well as the departures of members of management. Lead Plaintiff alleges that when the truth was disclosed, the Class suffered statutory damages under the Securities Act.

Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint on April 25, 2022. On November 29, 2022, the Court issued an order granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss. A copy of that November 29, 2022 order is available on the Case Documents page of this website and here.

On April 6, 2023, Biao Wang filed a motion for class certification. On June 22, 2023, Defendants filed a Statement of Non-Opposition to Lead Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification. On August 11, 2023, the Court issued an order granting the motion, certifying the Class, appointing the Class Representative, and appointing Class Counsel. The Court’s Order Granting Motion to Certify the Class is also available on the Case Documents page of this website.

If a settlement of the lawsuit is reached, it will be subject to approval by the Court. Class Members will be sent additional notice of any proposed settlement and members of the Class who have not excluded themselves will have an opportunity to object to the proposed settlement, and will be required to submit a Proof of Claim form to demonstrate their entitlement to any payment, if applicable. Similarly, the Court also may direct further notice to the Class following any judgment that may be entered after the trial of this case, or for any other reason that the Court may determine.

How do the Defendants respond?

Defendants filed answers (the “Answers”) to the Complaint on January 26, 2023. Defendants deny the allegations in the lawsuit, deny that they engaged in any wrongdoing, and believe that the claims are without merit. Among other things, Defendants contend that the statements detailed in the Complaint were not materially false or misleading at the time they were made. The Underwriter Defendants and Individual Defendants further contend that they performed reasonable and customary due diligence with respect to the statements in the Registration Statement. Defendants also dispute the extent to which Class Members suffered recoverable losses. Defendants’ Answers are available on the Case Documents page of this website and here.

THE CLASS

The Class, as certified by the Court, consists of: All persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Zymergen common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with Zymergen’s April 2021 initial public offering.

Excluded from the Class are Defendants, the officers and directors of Zymergen, at all relevant times, members of their immediate families and their legal representatives, heirs, successors, or assigns, and any entity in which Defendants have or had a controlling interest. Also excluded from the Class is any person or entity that timely and validly requests exclusion as explained in the Notice and below.

YOUR OPTIONS AS A CLASS MEMBER

As a member of the Class, you have two options available to you:

You must mail your exclusion request by first-class mail, postmarked by no later than December 5, 2023. You cannot exclude yourself from the Class by telephone or by email, and a request for exclusion will not be effective unless it contains all of the information called for on page 3 of the Notice.

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES

ADDTIONAL INFORMATION

Although the information on this website is intended to assist you, it does not replace the information contained in the Notice of Pendency of Class Action ("Notice") which can be found and downloaded on the Case Documents page of this website. We recommend that you read the Notice and other relevant case documents carefully. You may also wish to read the answers to Frequently Asked Questions provided on this website. If you have not received a Notice and would like to confirm that you are on the mailing list for further Notice mailings in this matter, please contact the Notice Administrator and request that a Notice be sent to you at your current mailing address.