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 …
AMSilk and Ajinomoto Join Forces to Advance Bio-Based Silk Proteins for High-Performance, Biodegradable Textiles
German biotech company AMSilk GmbH has entered into a long-term partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe, an affiliate of the Ajinomoto Group, to manufacture biobased silk proteins at large scale for biodegradable textiles. The collaboration will leverage Ajinomoto’s extensive industrial expertise in precision fermentation and its strategically located site in Nesle, France. The facility is close to AMSilk’s key customers in the premium textiles and consumer goods industries. Additionally, it uses local raw …
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 …
Inditex, Owner of Fashion House Zara, Invests in GALY’s Cultivated Cotton from Plant Cells
Spanish multinational clothing company Inditex, owner of Zara and Massimo Dutti, among other fashion brands, has announced a minority stake investment (the sum has not been disclosed) in GALY, a Brazilian and US biotech producing cultivated cotton from plant cells. GALY was founded in 2019 by Luciano Bueno, a former Deloitte executive. The startup has raised over $33.5 million from notable investors such as Sam Altman, former president of Y Combinator …
Polybion Creates “Entirely New Category” With Global Launch of Celium Cultivated Cellulose
Spanish biomaterials producer Polybion has announced that its cultivated cellulose, Celium, is now available worldwide. The company claims the material is more than a leather alternative, and will create an “entirely new category” due to its unique properties. Celium is grown by feeding bacteria with agroindustrial fruit waste; the cells then self-organize and create a cellulose structure as a metabolic by-product. This structure undergoes a sustainable stabilization process, and the …
Spiber Raises Over JPY10 Billion for Mass Production of Fermented Proteins for Materials
Spiber Inc., a Japanese biotech “brewing” sustainable materials for the fashion, automotive, and personal care industry, announces it has raised over JPY10 billion (around $65M) from equity financing. Spiber has raised a total funding of $489 million over 9 rounds. The funding, which included additional investments from existing shareholders, will allow the company to accelerate mass production of its innovative Brewed Protein materials and facilitate global sales. Founded in 2007, …
Qorium: “Our Product Creates Consistent, Beautiful, and Easily Workable Leather”
Founded in 2014, Dutch biotech startup Qorium is developing cultivated leather to provide an ethical and sustainable alternative to animal leather with no compromises on performance. The company’s technology enables the development of leather alternatives with consistent quality and adjustable properties. The result is a premium material with dramatically reduced carbon emissions and waste compared to conventional leather. In 2021, Qorium raised €2.6 million to scale up its technology. The …
AMSilk and BRAIN Biotech Achieve Milestone in Biodegradable Materials Performance
German Biotech AMSilk GmbH and BRAIN Biotech, a leading provider of solutions for the biologization industry, have been working for a year to create top-notch protein-based fibers for the performance materials sector. Now, at the end of the first phase of the collaboration, they announce that they have successfully optimized a specific natural structural protein for high-performance biomaterials and registered the first patent application for this optimization process — marking a significant milestone …
Cultivated Cotton to Enter the Market for the First Time Ever
Cultivated cotton produced by US startup GALY is set to be used commercially for the first time, after the company signed a deal with Japan’s Suzuran Medical Inc. Suzuran will use the cotton — which is grown from cells in a bioreactor — to produce medical products such as gauze and absorbent cotton, along with sheets and cosmetic cotton. According to Forbes, thousands of tons of the cultivated fibers will …