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 …
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 …
Simplifyber Secures $3.5M in Seed Round For 3D Printed Garments of the Future
Simplifyber, Inc, the cleantech producer of footwear and clothing “created in a lab, not in a factory”, announces it has closed a $3.5 million seed funding round. The New York brand makes cotton-like biodegradable footwear and clothing by injecting liquid into molds, on a mission to transform the world’s apparel and footwear industries and replace wovens and knits with sustainable alternatives. Simplifyber’s cellulose formula is derived from a combination of …