24/7 Market News- Kraig Labs Breakthrough Science is Pivoting to Scalable Business

DENVER, Jan. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- , a pioneer in digital media dedicated to the swift distribution of financial market news and information, reports that Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (OTCQB: KBLB) (“the Company”, “Kraig”, “Kraig Labs”), the undisputed global leader in the development and commercialization of spider silk, is entering a defining phase in its corporate and scientific evolution.

What began as a bold idea by Kim Thompson, Kraig’s founder and CEO, more than a decade ago, is now maturing into a viable business model blending genetic engineering, biotechnology, and commercial textile manufacturing. Kraig Labs’ journey, from acquiring key patent rights abandoned by a failed predecessor to developing proprietary gene-insertion protocols and delivering advanced materials for the U.S. Army, highlights how persistence and innovation can transform a visionary concept into a tangible, scalable technology.

From Nexia’s Collapse to Kraig’s Breakthrough

In the early 2000s, Nexia Biotechnologies spent more than $110 million attempting to mass-produce spider silk proteins using goats and bacterial systems. The idea was compelling, but the results were not. When Nexia’s model collapsed, Thompson strategically acquired the license to key patents from the University of Wyoming after Nexia Biotechnologies, the Canadian firm burned through its funding without achieving commercial viability. This acquisition provided KBLB with foundational spider silk gene sequences, but the real breakthrough came through Thompson's vision to combine them with cutting-edge genetic engineering, establishing the Company as the world's first to viable solution to produce recombinant spider silk at industrial scale in a $200 billion technical textiles market (5.2% CAGR to 2030, Grand View Research).

Rather than using mammals or fermentation vats, Thompson envisioned leveraging one of nature’s most efficient silk producers: the silkworm. His insight was simple but revolutionary, inserting spider silk DNA into silkworms so that they could spin the protein naturally, at industrial scale.

Collaboration with the University of Notre Dame: PiggyBac Technology and the Birth of a Platform

To execute that vision, Kraig Labs entered into a pivotal collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, where scientists utilized PiggyBac transposon gene-insertion technology, a tool that allows integration of foreign genes into host organisms. Using PiggyBac, Kraig and Notre Dame successfully created the world’s first transgenic silkworms capable of spinning recombinant spider silk in 2010.

That collaboration led to the creation of the Dragon Silk™ line, a hybrid fiber blending the elasticity and strength of spider silk with the processability of silkworm silk. Building on these early successes, Kraig Labs then developed its own proprietary genetic protocols, expanding beyond PiggyBac into advanced editing systems tailored specifically for its production needs.

Scientific Milestones and Military Collaboration

Kraig Labs’ spider silk has since evolved through multiple generations of material advancements, including:

• Monster Silk® – the company’s first commercially viable hybrid fiber.
• Dragon Silk™ – developed for enhanced toughness and durability.
• BAM-1 and Next-Generation Hybrids – the latest fibers optimized for strength, flexibility, and yield in production environments.
  
  
  
  

From Lab to Market: Building the Business Model

After years of R&D validation, Kraig Labs shifted its focus toward commercial scalability, establishing rearing and production operations in Asia to leverage existing sericulture infrastructure. The Company now operates multiple production centers, each capable of sustaining overlapping rearing cycles to ensure continuous fiber output.

With these facilities running concurrently, Kraig Labs has entered a new phase, moving from prototype to production.

A Long Road to a New Industry

Unlike the efforts that rode on its coattails, Kraig Labs’ efforts to bring spider silk to market was never about chasing hype, it was always about solving one of nature’s hardest engineering challenges and then about bringing the resulting technological breakthroughs to market.

So many competitors walked away, after burning through eight and nine-figure budgets and realizing creating usable spider silk is nearly impossible, as Kraig Labs developed new genetics and new production methods that turned decades of failed theory into a scalable reality.

Key Milestones in Kraig Labs’ Evolution

• 2006–2008: Kraig Biocraft Laboratories founded; acquisition of spider silk-related patents from Nexia Biotechnologies.
• 2009–2012: Collaboration with the University of Notre Dame yields first transgenic silkworms using PiggyBac technology.
• 2016: U.S. Army awards Kraig Labs a contract to develop ballistic “shoot packs” using Dragon Silk.
• 2018–2022: Monster Silk® and Dragon Silk™ commercial validation efforts expand; production trials begin in Vietnam.
• 2023–2025: Kraig Labs opens new hybrid breeding facilities; achieves largest production runs in company history; expands to dual-facility operations.
  
  
  
  

Looking Ahead: Commercialization and Global Opportunity

With advanced genetics, and a growing production base, Kraig Labs is positioning itself at the forefront of the bio-materials revolution. The Company’s recombinant spider silk platform is designed for applications across performance textiles, defense, luxury goods, and industrial composites; potential multi-billion-dollar market opportunities.

As 2025 draws to a close, Kraig Biocraft Laboratories stands as a rare biotech success story, a company that not only persisted through two decades of scientific and economic challenges but now appears poised to redefine the materials industry itself.

For more information about Kraig Labs’ spider silk technology and partnership opportunities, visit

Please to read the full Kraig Labs analyst report on 247marketnews.com.

About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of spider silk-based fiber technologies. Through its proprietary silkworm-based genetic engineering platform, Kraig Labs produces high-performance, cost-effective, and scalable spider silk materials for use in defense, performance apparel, technical textiles, and medical applications.

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PAID EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid editorial communication intended for informational purposes only. 247 is a third-party media provider and has been compensated for providing ongoing KBLB market outreach and other services. This press release may include technical analysis and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Trading stocks involves risks, and readers should consult with their financial advisor before making investment decisions. Please review 247’s Full Disclaimer . Please go to for further KBLB and 247marketnews.com disclosure information.

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