Variable Interest Entities	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Variable Interest Entity, Measure of Activity [Abstract]
Variable Interest Entities	5. Variable Interest Entities Consolidated Variable Interest Entity The Company consolidated Cooksonia, LLC (“Cooksonia”), a variable interest entity (“VIE”) formed by the Company and certain other investors for the purposes of holding the Company’s investment in the Joyn Bio, LLC (“Joyn Bio”) joint venture, prior to the joint venture's termination in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Company concluded that it held a variable interest in and was the primary beneficiary of Cooksonia as it controlled the most significant activities of Cooksonia by controlling 100% of the board of directors of Cooksonia and held a controlling financial interest in Cooksonia. Unconsolidated Variable Interest Entities During the first quarter of 2022, the Company deconsolidated Verb following the hiring of a new chief executive officer of Verb who was not an affiliate, related party or agent of Ginkgo. The chief executive officer was also appointed to Verb's Joint Steering Committee and board of directors. As a result, the Company no longer had substantive control of the board of directors or the Joint Steering Committee. Accordingly, the Company concluded that it was no longer the primary beneficiary of Verb as it no longer controlled the most significant activities of the entity. As a result of this change in the primary beneficiary determination, the Company deconsolidated the entity and recorded a gain on deconsolidation of $15.9 million equal to the fair value of the retained interest as of the deconsolidation date. The fair value of the retained interest was determined using the option pricing method. The option pricing method used a Black-Scholes methodology to infer the total equity value based on the pricing of the Series A preferred unit financing given the proximity of the deconsolidation event to the financing. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company has concluded that its investments in Motif, Allonnia, Genomatica, Arcaea, BiomEdit, Verb and Ayana (collectively, the “Unconsolidated VIEs”) represent variable interests and that these entities are VIEs. Although the Company may have board representation and is involved in the ongoing development activities of the entities via its participation on the JSC, the Company has concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of these entities. This conclusion is supported by the fact that: (i) the Company does not control the board of directors of any of the Unconsolidated VIEs, and no voting or consent agreements exist between the Company and other members of each respective board of directors or other investors, (ii) the holders of preferred security interests in the Unconsolidated VIEs hold certain rights that require their consent prior to taking certain actions, which include certain significant operating and financing decisions, and (iii) the Company’s representation on the JSC of each respective entity does not give it control over the development activities of any of the Unconsolidated VIEs, as all JSC decisions are made by consensus and there are no agreements in place that would require any of the entities to vote in alignment with the Company. As the Company’s involvement in the Unconsolidated VIEs does not give it the power to control the decisions with respect to their development or other activities, which are their most significant activities, the Company has concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of the Unconsolidated VIEs. Additionally, the Company holds equity interests in certain privately-held companies that are not consolidated as the Company is not the primary beneficiary. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the maximum risk of loss related to the Company’s unconsolidated VIEs was limited to the carrying value of its investments in such entities. Refer to Note 4 for additional details on the Company’s investments and equity method investments.

Variable Interest Entities

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Variable Interest Entity, Measure of Activity [Abstract]

5. Variable Interest Entities

Consolidated Variable Interest Entity

The Company consolidated Cooksonia, LLC (“Cooksonia”), a variable interest entity (“VIE”) formed by the Company and certain other investors for the purposes of holding the Company’s investment in the Joyn Bio, LLC (“Joyn Bio”) joint venture, prior to the joint venture's termination in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Company concluded that it held a variable interest in and was the primary beneficiary of Cooksonia as it controlled the most significant activities of Cooksonia by controlling 100% of the board of directors of Cooksonia and held a controlling financial interest in Cooksonia.

Unconsolidated Variable Interest Entities

During the first quarter of 2022, the Company deconsolidated Verb following the hiring of a new chief executive officer of Verb who was not an affiliate, related party or agent of Ginkgo. The chief executive officer was also appointed to Verb's Joint Steering Committee and board of directors. As a result, the Company no longer had substantive control of the board of directors or the Joint Steering Committee. Accordingly, the Company concluded that it was no longer the primary beneficiary of Verb as it no longer controlled the most significant activities of the entity. As a result of this change in the primary beneficiary determination, the Company deconsolidated the entity and recorded a gain on deconsolidation of $15.9 million equal to the fair value of the retained interest as of the deconsolidation date. The fair value of the retained interest was determined using the option pricing method. The option pricing method used a Black-Scholes methodology to infer the total equity value based on the pricing of the Series A preferred unit financing given the proximity of the deconsolidation event to the financing.

As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company has concluded that its investments in Motif, Allonnia, Genomatica, Arcaea, BiomEdit, Verb and Ayana (collectively, the “Unconsolidated VIEs”) represent variable interests and that these entities are VIEs. Although the Company may have board representation and is involved in the ongoing development activities of the entities via its participation on the JSC, the Company has concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of these entities. This conclusion is supported by the fact that: (i) the Company does not control the board of directors of any of the Unconsolidated VIEs, and no voting or consent agreements exist between the Company and other members of each respective board of directors or other investors, (ii) the holders of preferred security interests in the Unconsolidated VIEs hold certain rights that require their consent prior to taking certain actions, which include certain significant operating and financing decisions, and (iii) the Company’s representation on the JSC of each respective entity does not give it control over the development activities of any of the Unconsolidated VIEs, as all JSC decisions are made by consensus and there are no agreements in place that would require any of the entities to vote in alignment with the Company. As the Company’s involvement in the Unconsolidated VIEs does not give it the power to control the decisions with respect to their development or other activities, which are their most significant activities, the Company has concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of the Unconsolidated VIEs.

Additionally, the Company holds equity interests in certain privately-held companies that are not consolidated as the Company is not the primary beneficiary. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the maximum risk of loss related to the Company’s unconsolidated VIEs was limited to the carrying value of its investments in such entities.

Refer to Note 4 for additional details on the Company’s investments and equity method investments.