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, …
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 …
France’s Faircraft Secures VitroLabs’ Patent Portfolio Through US Asset Acquisition
French biotechnology company Faircraft has acquired key assets from VitroLabs, a California-based firm specializing in the development of lab-grown leather. The acquisition includes a portfolio of 30 patents and expands Faircraft’s intellectual property and technological capabilities in preparation for industrial-scale production. Founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley, VitroLabs was among the first companies to produce viable samples of lab-grown leather targeting the luxury market. Its early research centered on engineering …
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 …
Biotope Unveils Fifth Cohort Focused on Solutions for Leather, Food Waste, and Natural Colors
Biotope, a Belgian biotech incubator and early-stage investor, has revealed the three startups selected to be part of its fifth and latest cohort: Corium Biotech, I-Challenge, and Lantana Bio. Launched by the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Biotope aims to bring agrifood startups to seed-stage readiness within 18 months, de-risking biotechnology investments to drive innovation in the biotech space. Annick Verween, Head of Biotope, shared: “Biotope focuses on potentially impactful …
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 …
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 …