SoftBank has led a $130m investment in a US bioengineering startup that makes “designer microbes”, in the latest sign of artificial intelligence and robotics invading the natural sciences.

The three-year-old venture, Zymergen, uses machine learning and other techniques to re-engineer the genetic make-up of micro-organisms. The enhanced microbes are used in existing industrial processes including making generic pharmaceuticals, but its backers hope the technology will also open the way to bigger breakthroughs.

Deep Nishar, head of the SoftBank’s new investments group, said the gene-editing of microbes could eventually be used to create new materials, such as adhesives that work in extreme conditions or flexible electronics for consumer gadgets that wouldn’t break when dropped.