Biotechnica is a megacorporation in Cyberpunk. It created Triticum vulgaris megasuavis, the genus of wheat that is refined into the synthetic grain alcohol/fuel CHOOH2, and licenses the rights to use it to various petrochemical companies.[2][3] It is the largest biotech company in the world, specializing in genetic engineering and biotechnical, pharmaceutical and microbiological research.[4][5]
Overview[]
When the fuel crisis started to affect the industrial business in the late 1990s, Biotechnica, then a small company with a single office, came up with the answer: CHOOH2, a complex grain alcohol produced by genetically engineered yeasts and wheat strains. The potential of CHOOH2 was quickly realized, and within a few years many vehicles and power plants had converted to the new fuel.[6]
Despite holding global patents, Biotechnica lacked the production facilities to meet global demand, forcing it to license production to several large agribusinesses and petro-corporations, mainly Petrochem and SovOil. These transactions made Biotechnica a very wealthy company.[6] Besides utilizing the licensing rights of CHOOH2 to other corporations, Biotechnica has a multitude of bioware products on the market.
Biotechnica is always looking into more breakthroughs and is constantly expanding. They have facilities all over the world, including Rome, Venice, Berlin, Bonn, Paris, London, Hamamatsu, La Jolla, Seattle, Dallas, Night City, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro.
Biotechnica's labs have provided much of the tech that enabled the Pacifica Confederation to develop new bio-engineered "replacement species," and Biotechnica is active in restoring both animals and habitat throughout the blighted environments of this era.[7]
Over the years Biotechnica genetically engineered a number of crops that could be farmed even with the drastic changes in Earth's climate. Most popular of these was FrostCorn, a hybrid species the company engineered to be adaptable to all climate conditions. The megacorporation sold licenses to cultivate FrostCorn to both national and local governments, most notably Alaska,[8][9] as well as small, private farms. These annual licensing fees over the years slowly depleted the budgets of smaller businesses and forced more and more of them to sell their land to Biotechnica itself. Eventually, these farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs formed Crimson Harvest, an anti-corporate organization demanding that Biotechnica stops its extortionate practices. In response to Crimson Harvest's peaceful protests Biotechnica increased their prices even more, and was rumored to have unleashed a virus that hurt any crops grown from unlicensed grain. As the situation got worse, the organization became more radical. The tensions remained high until the bloodiest incident took place in a Biotechnica facility in Paris, after which Crimson Harvest was recognized as a terrorist organization. This seemingly escalated the conflict by a lot, with more anti-corporate fanatics joining Crimson Harvest and making it more dangerous than it ever was.[10]
History[]
1990s[]
Biotechnica started out as a small company based out of Rome, Italy. In 1991, amidst an energy crisis, Biotechnica developed CHOOH2, a substitute for fossil fuel. At the time, they weren't a big enough corporation to keep up with the demand, and so they decided to sell the exclusive license for the production and distribution of the product to Petrochem. CHOOH2 eventually became the standard fuel around the world. Capitalizing on its success, the board of directors sold the license to 14 other manufacturers around the world, including SovOil, but Petrochem remained responsible for 60% of the world's supply[2] with the largest amount of soil to grow the yeast needed for production.
Biotechnica's products raised their capital by a huge margin and it eventually became a megacorporation. Biotechnica started making deals with Arasaka, and settled on a mutual beneficial agreement, providing troops in exchange for exclusive biological weapons.
2000s[]
Biotechnica's second major discovery was kept secret due to it being illegal in the majority of countries. In 2004, Francis Young was successful in human cloning experiments, however it wasn't until 16 years later, in 2020, that he succeeded in producing the first self-aware fully functional human clone by implanting it with a construct personality. Initially, this development was artificial, but soon enough they began experimenting to insert natural digitized personalities in clones using something similar in tech to the Soulkiller. The main R&D cloning facility of Biotechnica located in Night City had a staff of about 200 scientists and security.
The biggest goal for Biotechnica was to bring back the flora and the fauna that changed significantly in the 1990s due to climate changes. They held facilities worldwide specializing in this field, slowly trying to rebuild the environment.
2020s[]
In the 2020s Biotechnica created a natural park in Night City, known as the Lake Park. They also cloned animals in an attempt to preserve them and sell to people for a high profit margin.
The Fourth Corporate War saw Biotechnica remain as neutral as it possibly could, allowing them to get through the war without many problems. They supplied both Militech and Arasaka with weapons and other biological equipment, but, due to their previous deals with Arasaka and their continued support from the company, Arasaka got many exclusive devices behind the scenes.
2040s[]
In the 2040s, Biotechnica was the largest biotech company in the world. Their medical and biological advances have led to cheaper cloned organs and limbs as well as the repopulation of several nearly extinct species.
Biotechnica's HQ in Night City at the time was the Biotechnica Campus located in the University District.
2050s - 2060s[]
Biotechnica built their new regional HQ in Night City's new Corporate Plaza when the rebuilding began in 2052. Biotechnica also invested in the development of Pacifica into a wealthy tourist destination, building the new Biotechnica Venture Center in the planned Serenisands sub-district. The project remained unfinished and was eventually abandoned after many delays and the outbreak of the Unification War.
2070s[]
In the 2070s, Biotechnica has continued to work towards rebuilding the environment, including restoration of forests and bioengineering previously extinct animal species across the world. In a big breakthrough, Biotechnica's reaserchers brought back three, previously extinct animal species - the North American beaver, the swift fox, and the eastern cottontail.[11] The corporation has also participated in researching various vaccines and future medicine products.[5] Biotechnica offered its employees up to six paid vacation days a year. In 2077, the corporation was considered the third best company to work for in Night City.[12]
Biotechnica eventually expanded into food production industry thanks to the income from the annual fees from their fuel and crop licences. In the 2070s, Biotechnica owned many protein farms worldwide, which were used to produce synthetic protein derivatives on a massive scale. One of these facilities was the Biotechnica Flats, located in the Southern Desert region of the Badlands on the outskirts of Night City.[13] The Biotechnica Flats became the base source for much of Night City's food. At some point the corporation acquired All Foods, a company producing and selling synthetic food and beverages.
In the early 2070s, netrunner Sasha Yakovleva infiltrated the Biotechnica Building to steal confidential information on their projects. By chance, she discovered the information about the undisclosed side effects of Securicine, a painkiller made by the corporation. Yakovleva managed to send this information to Network 54 before being killed by Biotechnica security.[14]
In 2076 the anti-corporate organization Crimson Harvest attacked Biotechnica's reaserch facility in Paris. Next year, Biotechnica's operative Linda Sherman found and followed Nele Springer, the likely culprit behind the incident, in Dogtown, Night City.[15][16]
Despite the company's advertised positive contribution to society, a team of Biotechnica scientists consisting of Dr. Joanne Koch, Dr. Diana Cuno and Aleksander Pushkin was responsible for the deaths of at least 70 nomads of the Red Ocher clan.[17][18][19] The group used the nomad town as a test subject for Project Nightingale, research allegedly related to antibiotics development.[17] To prevent a leak of the incident, Dr. Koch ordered Biotechnica security to have her colleague Emilia Morton killed.[20][21] The information leaked anyway, and corporate higher-ups decided to pin the blame on Dr. Cuno, who then tried to flee the city.[22][23] Media investigator Manuel Mendoza started to look into the project, including hiring a netrunner DOUBLE_O to hack into Biotechnica's net through the servers of Impala Automatics, who were working with Biotechnica at the time, but both of them would be eventually found and killed.[19][24][25][26]
In 2077, Saul Bright, leader of a family of Aldecaldos stationed outside of Night City, was negotiating with Biotechnica to have his family work for them in exchange for reverse transpiration xerophytes, i.e., equipment to help his clan grow crops in the Badlands and thereby be more self-sufficient.[27] Although Saul sought to enter into a more permanent working relationship with Biotechnica in order to provide his people with a steady income, this notion was very unpopular among his family and, thus, never came to fruition.[28][29][30]
Database Entry[]
BIOTECHNICA
Biotechnica is a corporation specializing in genetic engineering and biotechnical, pharmaceutical and microbiological research. It was in Biotechnica's labs that the world's leading specialists first made the breakthrough discovery that brought the world back from the brink of a fuel crisis. The discovery? CHOOH2, a fuel based on synthetic alcohol obtained from genetically modified wheat. This patent made the corporation a major player on the market. To this day, Biotechnica retains exclusive rights to the product – and complete control over the fuel market. Its other major field of business is food production: large companies such as All Foods also fall under the Biotechnica umbrella.[5]
Products[]
2020s[]
2040s[]
| Type | Products |
|---|---|
| Items | Shower in a Can |
| Weapons | Biotechnica Enviro-Launcher[35] |
| Cyberware | Heuristic Health Monitor[36] |
Notable Employees[]
- Main article: List of Biotechnica employees
Leadership[]
- Nicolo Loggagia - CEO, 2020s - 2040s
- Tina Caruso - Head of West Coast branch, 2070s[37]
- Dr. Joanne Koch - Regional Director for Technology and Development, 2070s
Notable Locations[]
2020s[]
Night City[]
- Biotechnica Mono-clonal Research Station in Heywood, NC Suburbs
South California[]
- Biotechnica Regional Office in La Jolla, South California[6]
European Economic Community[]
- Biotechnica HQ in Rome, Italy[6]
- Biotechnica Regional Office in London, England[6]
- Biotechnica Regional Office in Bonn, Germany[6]
- Biotechnica Regional Office in Paris, France[6]
2040s[]
Night City[]
- Biotechnica Campus at the University District
- Biotechnica Habitation Sphere Alpha at the University District
- Biotechnica Palm Grove in Woodland Park, North Heywood
2070s[]
Night City[]
- Biotechnica Building in Corporate Plaza, City Center
- Biotechnica Hotel in Downtown, City Center
- Biotechnica Venture Center in Serenisands, Pacifica (unfinished, abandoned)
Badlands[]
- Biotechnica Flats
- R&D facility[8]
European Economic Community[]
- Biotechnica HQ in Rome, Italy
- Biotechnica HQ in Berlin, Germany[15]
- Biotechnica Lab in Paris, France[15]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Cyberpunk 2077 TV advertisement
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MOSS, W. Corporation Report 2020 Volume 3. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1992.
- ↑ Adrian Marc in ArtStation
- ↑ GRAY, J. 100 Logos. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2025. (p.3)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 CD Projekt RED. Cyberpunk 2077. Video Game, Multi-Platform. Poland, CD Projekt S.A., 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk 2020 Core Rulebook. 2nd ed., Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1990. (p.212)
- ↑ PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2020. (p.269)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Biotechnica/Netpage
- ↑ CD Projekt RED. Cyberpunk 2077. Video Game, Multi-Platform. Poland, CD Projekt S.A., 2020. (pp.Arif Iqbal, WNS News)
- ↑ CD Projekt RED. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Video Game, Multi-Platform. Poland, CD Projekt S.A., 2023. (p.Crimson Harvest Database Entry)
- ↑ CD Projekt RED. Cyberpunk 2077. Video Game, Multi-Platform. Poland, CD Projekt S.A., 2020. (pp.Arif Iqbal, WNS News)
- ↑ Big 5 Employers in Night City - 2077
- ↑ nightcity.love
- ↑ Let You Down
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Gig: Roads to Redemption
- ↑ One Way or Another
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Gig: Guinea Pigs
- ↑ Gig: Olive Branch
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Notes (Downtown)
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Emilia Morton and Joanne Koch
- ↑ Archived Conversation: SERGEANT 1919 and Joanne Koch
- ↑ Target for liquidation
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Diana Cuno and Wakako Okada
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Mendoza and Double_O
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Lamarr and Dr. Koch
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Major Lance Hardy and Mark Caroll
- ↑ Archived Conversation: Saul Bright and Emilia Weiss
- ↑ Saul Bright/Computers
- ↑ Riders on the Storm
- ↑ With a Little Help from My Friends
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 BAILEY, D. Chromebook Volume 4. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1996.
- ↑ FISK, C. Chromebook Volume 1. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1991.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 PONDSMITH, M. Chromebook Volume 2. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1992.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 ACKERMAN-GRAY, D. Firestorm Shockwave. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1997.
- ↑ HUTT, J. Woodchipper's Garage. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2022.
- ↑ HUTT, J. et al., Black Chrome. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2023.
- ↑ Background dialogue during The Heist