Biotechnica

Headquarters: Bologna, Italy (with major bio-domes across Europe and South America)
Founded: 1990s, privatized fully in the 2020s
Primary Domains: Genomics, Agriculture, Biofuels, Designer Biology, Neural Splicing
Motto: “Life is the ultimate technology.”

Origins

Biotechnica began in the late 20th century as a European biotech research company, rising to prominence with the creation of CHOOH2—a synthetic fuel derived from genetically engineered wheat strains. This innovation carried the world through the collapse of fossil fuels, cementing Biotechnica as a pillar of survival during the early Resource Wars.

While other megacorps fought over weapons, networks, and cyberware, Biotechnica invested in life itself—gene editing, lab-grown ecosystems, and bioengineered organisms. By the time cyberpunk 2077 unfolded, Biotechnica had already become synonymous with agritech dominance.

2097 Evolution

By 2097, Biotechnica has transcended its origins. Now, it controls the foundation of biological existence across Earth and the colonies:

  • CHOOH3 Biofuel: An upgraded, hyper-efficient strain that powers not only vehicles but orbital transport systems and even lunar reactors.

  • Bio-Vats & Clone Farms: Mass-production facilities for synthetic meat, cloned organs, and designer humans—from vat-grown soldiers to companion “biotypes.”

  • Psycho-Biotics: Chemical and genetic stabilizers for cyberpsychosis, addiction, and loyalty conditioning, distributed under the guise of “public health.”

  • Terraforming Seedbanks: Biotechnica holds exclusive patents on genetically engineered flora capable of surviving in lunar greenhouses and asteroid colonies. Whoever wants to breathe—or eat—off-world must pay Biotechnica.

Control Through Biology

Unlike Militech (military force) or Shivanti (AI predictive dominance), Biotechnica’s power lies in dependency.

  • Every meal eaten in Night City traces back to a Biotechnica gene license.

  • Every synthetic lung, liver, or kidney in circulation carries a proprietary lock—with Biotechnica charging renewal fees for continued function.

  • Their labs churn out “bioplague patents”—engineered pathogens they secretly release, only to sell the cure back to nations, corporations, or gangs.

Corporate Culture

Biotechnica cloaks itself in green-washed futurism. Their arcologies are pristine gardens filled with genetically perfected flora, marketed as symbols of harmony. Propaganda presents the corporation as humanity’s caretaker of life. But inside, workers describe sterile labs where ethics are optional, patents are sacred, and “life” is merely another product to monetize.

Corporate slogans include:

  • “Life is proprietary.”

  • “Every seed, every cell—ours.”

  • “Humanity is a species under license.”

Rivalries

  • Militech: Biotechnica supplies cloned biotroops and enhanced combat stims, but Militech despises their monopoly pricing.

  • Shivanti Systems: Shivanti’s predictive AI is beginning to undermine Biotechnica’s pharma profits by forecasting black-market mutations before they spread.

  • Nexus Pharma: A growing threat in the drug trade, Nexus chips away at Biotechnica’s dominance in cyberpsychosis treatments with street-ready alternatives.

  • Helios Orbital: Biotechnica must lease oxygen and transport rights for its lunar bio-domes from Helios, creating a tense but interdependent relationship.

Reputation in Night City

Biotechnica is simultaneously essential and feared. In the underworld, they’re known as the “Seed Lords”—because nothing grows, nothing heals, and nothing lives without their permission. Fixers whisper of “ghost contracts”—Biotechnica agreements hidden in DNA sequences that bind generations of cloned offspring to corporate ownership.