Qorium Raises €22M to Scale Production of Cultivated Leather
Qorium, a Dutch biotech company producing cultivated leather, has secured €22 million in Series A funding. Participants in the round included Invest-NL, LIOF, Brightlands Venture Partners, and Sofinnova Partners, along with an influential group of high-net-worth individuals. The Invest-NL investment has been made under the European Commission’s InvestEU guarantee scheme. Qorium is currently installing new bioreactor systems at its Maastricht facilities and has already established several commercial partnerships. The company …
Cultivated Biomaterials to Launch Crowdfunding Campaign for “World’s First” Cultivated Leather Jewelry
US-based company Cultivated Biomaterials is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for what is claimed to be the world’s first cultivated leather jewelry. The leather is produced using the cultivated skin cells of a cow named Angel, who lives at Sweet Farm sanctuary in New York state. It is tissue-engineered with a patent-pending technology platform; the process involves the use of sustainable plant-based scaffolds, novel scalable bioreactors, and fully animal-free …
Meatable and Pelagen Partner to Improve Scalability of Cultivated Leather
Cultivated meat company Meatable has partnered with animal-free leather producer Pelagen to improve the efficiency and scalability of cultivated leather. Through the partnership, Pelagen will explore the use of opti-ox™ — a technology developed by Meatable co-founder Mark Kotter to program stem cells into any cell type — to enhance the production of skin tissue from animal cells. The two Netherlands-based companies will also collaborate to develop the most effective …
French Cultivated Leather Startup Faircraft Secures €15M to Meet Demand for Ethical Materials
France’s Faircraft, a cultivated leather startup based in Paris, announces it has raised €15 million to expand its team and scale up operations to meet the increasing demand for sustainable materials. Faircraft was founded in 2021 by CEO Haïkel Balti, an engineer in materials science, and biochemist César Valencia Gallardo. Leveraging cell biology and unique tissue engineering techniques, they aim to offer a new class of materials with a lower …
Mark Post-Founded Qorium Unveils 35x35cm Cultivated Leather Sample as “Tangible Proof” of a Promising Future
Qorium, a Dutch biotech startup founded by cultivated meat pioneer Mark Post, has announced a significant milestone in scaling up the production of cultivated leather. Qorium’s platform combines specifically developed cultured cells with tissue engineering processes to create a product with the same strength, durability, and appearance as animal leather but without its environmental impact. Using a newly scaled-up tissue bioreactor, the biotech company says it has produced a 35x35cm …
DiCaprio Backed VitroLabs Appoints Industry Figures to Bring World’s First Cultivated Leather to Market
VitroLabs, which raised $46 million in a Series A from high-profile investors including Kering and Leonardo DiCaprio this May, has appointed a notable Board of Directors as part of its mission to create luxurious next-gen leather from cells. The San Francisco-based startup says it has been officially manufacturing its cell-cultivated leather in its pilot plant and that its R&D team is working on advancing its proprietary tissue engineering processes to …
3DBT Receives £2.9M in Capital To Expedite Production of Cultivated Meat and Leather
London’s BSF Enterprise, a biotech company focused on lab-grown meat that wholly owns clinical and cellular agriculture company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), has raised £2.9 million via an oversubscribed placing at 17p/share, reports Vox Markets. BSF will use the new investment to provide working capital for 3DBT to accelerate its progress and increase its capacity to produce cultivated meat and leather using its serum-free media platform, City-Mix. Serum-free media, City-Mix Following …
EU Project Fabulose Scales Biotech-Derived Cellulose into Circular Vegan Leather Alternatives
Fabulose is an EU funded project coordinated by the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF). Its consortium consists of leading research institutes, biotech innovators, and industry stakeholders who aim to create high-performance, biobased and recyclable leather-like fabrics, using efficient biotech production routes for bacterial cellulose, cyanophycin and bacterial pigments. Current leather alternatives are either made from petrol-based plastics and non-recyclable, or they are (partly) biobased, but difficult to …
BSF Enterprise Targets £15 Million Equity Raise to Advance Lab‑Grown Leather and Bio‑Tissue Projects
BSF Enterprise PLC, a company specializing in tissue-engineered materials, has announced plans for a £15 million equity fundraise to accelerate the commercialization of its core technologies in lab-grown leather, corneal repair, and cell culture media for biomedical applications. The investment is part of a broader strategy to expand the company’s capabilities and market presence in these emerging sectors. The fundraise, which includes a combination of convertible loan notes and warrants, …
EU Project FABULOSE Receives €3.5M to Develop Animal-Free Leather From Biotechnologically Produced Cellulose
A new innovation project called FABULOSE is set to receive €3.5 million from the EU to develop animal-free leather alternatives made from biotechnologically produced cellulose. 11 European partners are involved in the project, working to create scalable and sustainable bio-based production routes for animal-free leather. Novis BioBased Technology, a company specialising in biogas plants, and vegan handbag manufacturer MELINA BUCHER are also involved. Consulting and brokerage agency Steinbeis Europa Zentrum …