Kraig Biocraft Laboratories: recombinant spider silk claims
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A Michigan company that breeds genetically modified silkworms announced record cocoon output in 2026 and described it as spider silk. The announcements gave cocoon weight but not the share of spider protein, revenue or customers.
Reported in a reports of the company's SEC Form 10-K; revenue for the year was reported as zero.
Status As of June 2026: the company has announced about 2.5 metric tons of cocoons in one cycle; no spider-silk sales or protein share are on record.
What happened
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories is an Ann Arbor-based company whose shares trade over the counter. It works with genetically modified silkworms to produce a fibre it calls "Dragon Silk", and operates in the United States and Vietnam.
In July 2016 the company announced its first contract with the US Army: a fully funded base work order of $99,962, with options of up to $1 million. In the same announcement the company said it was on the way to delivering the first commercially viable, mass-produced recombinant spider silk.
Reported figures from the company's annual report for fiscal 2024 (seen only as a reports of the SEC filing) were zero revenue, a net loss of about $3.4 million and an accumulated loss of about $53.1 million, with the auditor warning about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.
In April 2026 the company announced it had produced more than 1.3 metric tons of recombinant spider silk cocoons in a single month. In June 2026 it announced about 2.5 metric tons in a single production cycle. The announcements give the weight of cocoons. They do not state the share of spider protein in the cocoons, and do not report revenue or customers.
The best result reported in the scientific literature cited in the source material is a modified cocoon with up to 35 percent spider protein (MaSp1) by weight. No sale of commercial spider silk by the company is recorded in the sources reviewed.
- 2016July: Kraig announces its first US Army contract (base $99,962; options up to $1 million)
- 2024Fiscal year: revenue reported as zero; net loss about $3.4 million; accumulated loss about $53.1 million (reported, not independently verified)
- 2026April: company announces more than 1.3 metric tons of cocoons in one month. June: about 2.5 metric tons of cocoons in one cycle
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Announced more than 1.3 metric tons of spider silk cocoons in a month (April 2026) and about 2.5 metric tons of recombinant spider silk in one cycle (June 2026).
Kraig Biocraft LaboratoriesThe best result reported is up to 35 percent spider protein (MaSp1) by weight in a modified cocoon (Frontiers 2022, citing Xu et al. 2018).
No statement on the spider-protein share, revenue or customers appears in the announcements reviewed.
Kraig Biocraft LaboratoriesHow it looked
Shown
- A contract with the US Army, described as putting the company on the way to delivering the first commercially viable, mass-produced recombinant spider silk (July 2016).Kraig Biocraft Laboratories announcement, as reported by Soldier Systems · Soldier Systems
- More than 1.3 metric tons of spider silk cocoons in a single month, described as a fivefold increase over the previous high (April 2026).Kraig Biocraft Laboratories press release, via BioSpace · Kraig Biocraft Laboratories
- Record of about 2.5 metric tons of recombinant spider silk in one production cycle (June 2026).Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, as reported by GeneOnline · GeneOnline
Recorded
- The April 2026 release states cocoon weight; it gives no spider-protein share and no revenue.
- The June 2026 figure is a company statement of about 2.5 metric tons of cocoons.
- Fiscal 2024: revenue zero, net loss about $3.4 million, accumulated loss about $53.1 million, going-concern warning from the auditor (as summarised in a search result of the Form 10-K; not independently verified).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- kraig-biocraft (July 2016; April 2026; June 2026): Announced a US Army contract in July 2016, a monthly output of more than 1.3 metric tons of cocoons in April 2026, and about 2.5 metric tons in a single cycle in June 2026. The announcements do not state spider-protein share, revenue or customers. · Kraig Biocraft Laboratories
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Revenue: Fiscal 2024 per reports of Form 10-K; not independently verified.
- Insufficient Net loss: Fiscal 2024 per reports of Form 10-K; not independently verified.
- Insufficient Accumulated loss: Per reports of Form 10-K; not independently verified.
Accounts
- Disputed Does announced cocoon tonnage amount to spider-silk output?
- None on record Kraig Biocraft Laboratories: No statement on the spider-protein share, revenue or customers appears in the announcements reviewed.
Record
- None on record The share of spider protein in the cocoons announced in April and June 2026: neither announcement states it.
- None on record Revenue and customers in 2026: the announcements do not report them.
- Unclear Whether the 2026 production took place in Vietnam or the United States: not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Insufficient The fiscal 2024 financial figures (zero revenue, net loss about $3.4 million, accumulated loss about $53.1 million, going-concern warning) were seen only in a reports of the Form 10-K and are reported but not independently verified.
Did the harm stop?
No environmental harm is recorded in the sources reviewed; the matter concerns product claims.
Who paid?
Not established in the sources reviewed; the company reported an accumulated loss of about $53.1 million (not independently verified).
Sources
Company or project
- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories shatters production record, delivering over 1.3 metric tons of spider silk cocoons in a single month (via BioSpace/GlobeNewswire)Kraig Biocraft Laboratories · 2026-04-06
Press and investigations
- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories announces contract with US Army to deliver Dragon SilkSoldier Systems · 2016-07-12
- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories produces record 2.5 metric tons of recombinant spider silkGeneOnline · 2026-06-09
Standard-setters and registries
- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Form 10-K, fiscal year 2024US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 2025
Connected cases
- Shell Rocky Mountain Arsenal insurance case United States · 1987–2010
- US Army (Government) — here: Customer under a 2016 contract; there: Co-payer of Arsenal cleanup