Algenesis Corporation, a Houston, TX-based plant-based material science company, raised US$5M in seed funding.
The round was led by First Bight Ventures, and Circulate Capital with participation from MIH Capital, Diamond Sports Group and RhinoShield. The investment follows a US$5M grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to scale up the production of biobased isocyanates from algae oils using a safe and green-flow chemistry process, as the company continues to work towards evolving their product to be 100% biobased.
Led by Steve Mayfield, Founder and CEO, Algenesis is a pioneer in developing bio-based plastics that are competitive with petroleum-based in both cost and functionality. Its patented Soleic® technology is a renewable, high performance, fully biodegradable and backyard compostable bioPolyurethane (bioPU) made from plants and algae.
Algenesis’ Soleic® PU is currently available in soft foam applications, such as midsoles and insoles for footwear.
The new funds will be used to expand Soleic® product lines into breathable waterproof textiles, and injection molded products such as phone cases. The company also plans to expand and strengthen its supply chain by bringing more of its processes in-house, to scale production and commercialization of these materials.
FinSMEs
26/10/2023