SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins the later rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates.  HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

SOSV

IndieBio is the world’s first accelerator devoted to startups using biology to solve the world's largest problems. IndieBio is an SOSV program. SOSV is a global venture capital firm that operates startup accelerator investment programs. At the close of 2020, SOSV had more than 1,000 portfolio companies and $855 million in assets under management.

IndieBio

Portfolia connects sophisticated investors and leaders with entrepreneurial companies. Their platform enables users to collaborate with other members and lead investors to evaluate innovative products and teams, join diligence teams, and immerse themselves in the investment process. It is an investment fund designed for women while backing innovative companies for returns and impact.

Portfolia

Born out of decades of friendship and investing, NAC was created to identify and support ground breaking innovation in the pursuit of a better world. We invest early and quickly, build relationships with founders and love to get our hands dirty to help our partners achieve their goals. Our fundamental investment philosophy has two tenets: 1) We believe that identifying and investing behind change - especially fundamental shifts in how the world works or what is possible - is key to capturing exponential returns 2) We believe that while early-stage investing can appear to be little more than random to the casual observer, subject matter expertise properly applied to evaluate uncommon opportunities tilts the power law in our favor As a result we like to stick to our knitting: we have had success and we continue to find incredible opportunities to work with smart and driven executive teams operating in markets that are going to be big in the consumer-touching space. Our approach is deliberately sector and vertical agnostic, and we've invested in businesses ranging from IoT to ice cream to space tourism to secure crypto wallets (and everything in between) but we believe our best investments come when we can understand the impact on the person at the end of the value-chain and what it's worth to them, and that the combination is much, much bigger than the market understands. We evaluate hundreds of opportunities annually from sources public and private: private placements, portco spinoffs, syndicates, friendly VCs, accelerators, founder referrals, and plain old fashioned networking and shoe leather. We look for the combination of a team + product that is positioned to win the future as well as an access + opportunity that we believe gives asymmetrical upside - and then look to share the best of the best with partners who can contribute more than just capital.

Nucleus Adventure Capital

Gaingels is a venture investment syndicate in service of the LGBT+ community and its allies, investing in companies with LGBT+ founders and C-suite leaders at all stages of growth, as well as in more established companies resolved on building more inclusive teams, with a global portfolio of 130+ companies and $70M in deployed investment capital to date.  The Gaingels network also actively supports its portfolio in identifying and recruiting diverse talent to their C-suite and board leadership teams and fosters a vibrant global community of industry leaders, investors, operators, and entrepreneurs who share a common goal for positive social change through business and successful investments.

Gaingels

Parley provides environmental consulting, prevention of underwater pollution, ocean preservation, sustainability and eco-fashion services.

Parley

Happiness Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in startups that aim to improve the world’s happiness. The firm helps entrepreneurs to co-create a happier world as a global community. Its investment portfolio covers seed to growth-stage companies in the US, Europe, Israel, China, and Hong Kong, with the focus on the future of food, health, education, and work. Happiness Capital was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Hong Kong.

Happiness Capital

MIH is the first India-based venture capital firm that exclusively invests in Blockchain-enabled companies. Our mission is to accelerate the inevitable future of Blockchain economy by supporting as many companies as possible. As a brand, we bring investors, influencers, and specialists to our partnering global blockchain projects. We contribute $500k++ in select projects, along with advisory services, exchange listing assistance, and a network of social influencers with thousands of followers. MIH is dedicated to the cause and equipped with highly experienced partners in both traditional finance and the blockchain technology.  With MIH's support, blockchain startups achieve maximum exposure during critical roadmap events which in turn helps boost the recognition and community support both in India and globally. We know from experience the importance for a startup to focus on developing its product without being distracted and we understand the importance of infusing an appropriate amount of capital at the right time. This makes us a reliable partner for most companies like yours!

MiH Ventures

Earth VC is a global climate tech venture capital firm dedicated to backing earth-changing deep tech startups that are key to decarbonizing Emerging Asia. Founded during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Earth VC was born from a shared belief that science and economics are our best solutions to fix the planet. Our bold vision is to foster a new era of investment that prioritizes protecting and preserving our planet over endless growth. Earth VC provides holistic support, from market bridging to Asia to key hirings and strategic fundraising guidance, ensuring that game-changing innovations get the backing they need to thrive. With a hands-on approach and a mission to decarbonize through breakthrough technologies, Earth VC is at the forefront of solving the climate crisis and driving sustainable progress in the Asia-Pacific region.

Earth Venture Capital

Meliorate Partners manages a group of early stage funds and organizations (Meliorate Fund, Salmon Innovation Fund, Blue Innovation Fund, EnVest) investing Founder to Pre-Seed stage innovations reimagining an economy where nature and humanity thrive together. These funds have invested at the earliest stages in many emerging leaders in the climate and sustainability space, including Tidal Vision, Blue Nalu, Public Goods, Sitka Salmon Shares, Hilos, and Algenesis.

Meliorate Partners

TômTex Co

100% naturally bio-based material made from food waste

<div>Based in New York, TomTex develops bio-based alternatives to faux and animal leather, using waste shells of crustaceans such as shrimp and lobster as well as waste mushrooms and coffee grounds. TomTex uses its proprietary technology to extract &ldquo;chitosan&rdquo;, a common biopolymer found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, to create a mixture from the waste shells and then colors it with natural sources like coffee and charcoal. TomTex then cures the mixture in a clay-based or a 3D-printed mold, allowing to create customized textural finishes including snakeskin-like and crocodile-like leather. The company claims that its material looks and feels like real leather, is naturally water-resistant (can be enhanced by coating with bee wax), is 100% recyclable and biodegradable, and minimizes toxic chemical usage. In November 2023, the company announced that it had recently produced an initial run of 100 linear feet of continuous, roll-to-roll material, with plans to scale up 10 times larger in the coming weeks.</div>

Earth-friendly biotech solutions for the textile, packaging and construction industries.

Bio-based Materials

TomTex

<div>
 
 Based in New York, TomTex develops bio-based alternatives to faux and animal leather, using waste shells of crustaceans such as shrimp and lobster as well as waste mushrooms and coffee grounds. TomTex uses its proprietary technology to extract &ldquo;chitosan&rdquo;, a common biopolymer found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, to create a mixture from the waste shells and then colors it with natural sources like coffee and charcoal. TomTex then cures the mixture in a clay-based or a 3D-printed mold, allowing to create customized textural finishes including snakeskin-like and crocodile-like leather. The company claims that its material looks and feels like real leather, is naturally water-resistant (can be enhanced by coating with bee wax), is 100% recyclable and biodegradable, and minimizes toxic chemical usage. In November 2023, the company announced that it had recently produced an initial run of 100 linear feet of continuous, roll-to-roll material, with plans to scale up 10 times larger in the coming weeks.
 
 
 
 
 Key Customers and Partnerships:
 
 
 
 
 As of April 2022, the company is conducting discussions for product trials with large brands and designers in New York and plans to expand its offering beyond the luxury leather goods segment to include the consumer electronics and automotive industries.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and Financials:
 
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24089">
 November 2023
 </a>
 , the company secured USD 2.25 million to expand its operations in a funding round led by Happiness Capital. Earlier in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9877">
 April 2022
 </a>
 , the company raised USD 1.7 million in pre-seed funding led by SOSV. The funding would support expanding the team and commercializing its product.
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Bolt Threads manufactures vegan &ldquo;spider&rdquo; silk and mycelium-based materials. Bolt Threads develops isolated silk proteins from proteins inspired by spider silk through a yeast fermentation process. The company&rsquo;s Microsilk products are sold under its clothing brand, Best Made Co. The company has also developed another biomaterial using mushroom-based mycelium, an alternative leather product branded as Mylo, which was expected to be produced on a larger scale.&nbsp;
 
 
 In September 2021, Bolt Threads announced its plans to produce Mylo on a commercial scale by the end of 2022 and expected to collaborate with mushroom farmers to heighten its mycelium crops. Though the company reported 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19867">
 halting production of Mylo
 </a>
 in June 2023 due to inflationary pressure and lack of funding, in October 2023, the company announced entering a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22431">
 SPAC deal
 </a>
 to go public on the Nasdaq.&nbsp;
 
 
 For its Microsilk product, Bolt had a production capacity of 32,000 sq ft per annum as of 2018. Since Microsilk remains significantly more expensive than traditional silk, the founders were seeking ways to scale up.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 For its Microsilk product, Bolt Threads launched its first collaboration in 2017 with fashion designer Stella McCartney and introduced its second prototype in the form of a biodegradable tennis dress.
 &nbsp;
 
 
 The leather alternative Mylo has been used in collaborations with Stella McCartney, Seattle-based leather bag manufacturer Chester Wallace, and Canadian athletic apparel retailer Lululemon. In October 2020, the Mylo Consortium was also formed including Adidas, Stella McCartney, Kering, and Lululemon, who collectively have made a seven-figure investment into Bolt Threads to produce Mylo. In return for their investments, these brands would have access to a large supply of the product.&nbsp;
 
 
 Stella McCartney has been experimenting with Mylo to create clothing prototypes with plans to use the material in upcoming collections. Adidas used Mylo to produce high-performance footwear for the first time in April 2021 by making a vegan version of its &ldquo;Stan Smith&rdquo; sneaker design that dates back to 1965 and had plans to expand the use of Mylo material in its other products including handbags, wallets, shoes, jackets. In February 2022, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8404">
 Lululemon
 </a>
 launched a Mylo-based yoga bag collection, which included a multipurpose yoga bag and a storage bag for workout gear. Mylo was also used by Danish luxury brand Ganni for the launch of its limited edition Mylo-based wallet range and one-of-a-kind saddle-bags in June 2022. Ganni&rsquo;s partnership with Bolt Threads included plans to release more Mylo-based products in Q1 2023. With growing demand for its Mylo product, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8884">
 in February 2022, 
 </a>
 the company partnered with Mycelium Materials Europe (MME) for the commercial production of Mylo but had not been able to materialize its plans.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s last funding round was a USD 123 million Series D in January 2018 led by Baillie Gifford. The funds were used to commercialize the company&rsquo;s Microsilk&nbsp;products.
 
 
 
</div>

Bolt Threads

MycoWorks is a manufacturer of alternative leather using mushroom-based fungi. Its proprietary brand, Reishi, is manufactured using a patented process called “Fine Mycelium”, which uses fungi’s capacity to bind to itself and carbon-based materials in producing durable three-dimensional material. The benefits of Reishi, according to MycoWorks, include its tensile strength (the force needed to pull material to its breaking point) at 10 Megapascals (MPa), compared to the average cowhide tensile strength of 8.5 MPa. Reishi is also customizable (in terms of sizing and specifications) allowing growing direct-to-design products that eliminate waste from cutting and trimming.Mycoworks operates three Reishi plants as of January 2022. The third plant in California has an annual production capacity of 80,000 sq ft of material per year, increased the company’s production tenfold, and reportedly reached a milestone of producing 10,000 trays of Fine Mycelium after a year of operation. The company is also building a new USD 107 million worth manufacturing facility in Union, South Carolina, with operations expected to commence in 2023. The new facility reportedly is expected to produce several million sq ft of Fine Mycelium per year. In August 2023, the company announced opening a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20757">136,000 square foot plant </a>&nbsp;which will produce Reishi that has been embraced by luxury brands like Hermès and Ligne Roset for various applications and was expected to begin operation on September 20, 2023.Reishi remains in the prototype development and testing phase. The company announced that the material is currently being tested in clothing, shoe, wallet, and handbag design. Key customers and partnershipsThe company indicated in November 2020 that the first luxury fashion and footwear products containing Reishi will be launched in partnership with leading fashion and footwear brands in the coming months. MycoWorks also partnered with Hermès, the French luxury goods manufacturer, in March 2021 to use a material named “Sylvania”(a Fine Mycelium-based material developed by the two companies over three years) in a sustainable version of Hermès’s “Victoria” travel bag, by the end of 2021. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24584">November 2023</a>, the company partnered with YUME YUME for interactive Reishi-based installation at Stedelijk Museum. Funding and financials<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7804">In January 2022</a>, MycoWorks raised USD 125 million in a Series C funding round led by Prime Movers Lab. The funding was expected to accelerate commercial production of Reishi and support in R&amp;D, technology development, and hiring new employees.

MycoWorks

Checkerspot is a manufacturer of microalgae-based performance materials which are used to produce consumer products, including skis and surfboards. The company modifies microalgae’s genes to derive new molecular building blocks and then bioengineers production of consumer products. Microbes are optimized to biomanufacture unique, natural structural oils that were previously not accessible on a viable, commercial scale. The company’s primary focus is on high-performance polyurethanes and coatings made from bio-based oil via fabrication.The company’s commercialized products include Algal Core (a light-weight urethane-based composite) and Algal Wall (cast urethane), both products are offered under the WNDR Alpine brand while algal oil is sold under the miDori bioWick. In February 2021, WNDR Alpine, Checkerspot’s outdoor brand, received the B Corp Certification, private certification granted to for-profit companies by the B Lab, a global non-profit organization formed to support the movement of using businesses as a force for good. Key customers and partnershipsThe company has partnered with Beyond Surface Technologies (BST) to commercialize miDori BioWick, an algal oil used in BST’s wicking textile finish. As of August 2020, the company’s co-development partners also included W.L. Gore and DIC Corporation.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16362">February 2023, </a>Checkerspot raised USD 55 million in Series C funding led by ArrowMark Partners to accelerate the development and commercialization of biobased alternatives for everyday products and expand into markets, such as industrial applications, personal care, and food and nutrition.

Checkerspot

Mi Terro converts milk waste into sustainable yarn, using a self-developed technology known as Pro-Act that extracts casein protein molecules from milk. The protein is purified and undergoes a dynamic flow shear spinning process, converting the casein to sustainable fiber. The resulting yarn is claimed to be three times softer than cotton and has applications in textiles, food packaging, bedding, personal care, and medical sectors. Mi Terro has also developed a limited-release ocean-waste duffle bag. Key customers and partnershipsThe company has partnered with Nike, Danone, Toyoshima, DFA, Mitsubishi, Lair East Labs, Dole, Budweiser, and Harada. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23179">October 2023</a>, the company partnered with Lipton to develop dissolvable tea pods. Funding and financialsThe company completed two rounds of funding in 2020, raising USD 100,000 in January 2020 and USD 50,000 in March 2020. In January 2021, the company also won the Meda Million Dollar Challenge and received a USD 300,000 prize. In March 2022, the company raised USD 1.5 million in a Seed round led by Astanor to scale up production.

Mi Terro

Modern Meadow develops collagen-based materials from plant proteins, using a range of biofabrication processes including the creation of bio alloys, solution dyeing, protein design, and fermentation. The focus of the company is on the luxury branded market with its fully biodegradable proprietary brand, “ZOA”. Modern Meadow also reports that it is developing “Bioleather1 (BL1)”, an alternative to chrome tanned bovine leather made using its proprietary BioAlloy process. According to research published by the company in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8431">February 2022 </a>, BL1 reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and 20% compared to traditional and synthetic leather respectively. It also reduces water consumption from groundwater sources, land use, and the subsequent degradation of water bodies during the process by 95% compared to conventional leather production.In April 2020, Modern Meadow announced plans to commence commercial production later that year and was actively looking for manufacturing partners. As of the same date, Modern Meadow employed between 70-90 staff at its 72,000 sq ft factory in New Jersey.Key customers and partnershipsModern Meadow announced a partnership with Evonik in March 2018, to develop and scale-up the commercial production of fermentation-based products.In April 2021, the company reported that it would announce collaborations with fashion brands and industry partners during the following six to nine months. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15657">January 2023 </a>, Modern Meadow partnered with Taiwan-based sustainable fabric company, Singtex to develop biomaterials for various applications, beginning with a sustainable, waterproof, membrane-based material for the outdoor apparel market. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16786">February 2023 </a>, the company partnered with US luxury brand, Tory Burch, to launch Tory Burch’s first plant-based leather alternative tote, the Ella Bio, powered by Modern Meadow technology, Bio-Alloy.In June 2023, it also formed a strategic partnership with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19178">Navis TubeTex </a>, a provider of textile machinery, to develop a sustainable textile manufacturing process. During the same month, it also formed a strategic partnership with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19868">BASF </a>to create an animal-free material called Bio-VERA that replicates the look, feel, and aging properties of traditional leather, suede, or chamois.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30500">June 2024</a>, the company partnered with Earthletica to unveil the Bronte Jacket which used Bio-Alloy Shield technology.Funding and financialsIn April 2021, the company raised USD 130 million in a Series C funding round led by Key Partners Capital to (i) develop the company's biofabrication technology, used in creating an alternative to fossil-fuel-based textile coatings; and (ii) scale-up and commercialize its collagen-based leather material.

Modern Meadow

Developers of materials with applications across apparel, automobile, home goods, etc.

Developers of non-leather material alternatives such as wool, silk, and viscose—mostly for apparel

Developers of alternatives to plastic and other materials used in packaging

Developers of alternative materials for industrial applications such as sporting goods, electronic components, and automotive parts

Reuses waste to create bio-based materials

Sustainable alternatives to materials like animal leather, silk, plastic

<div>
 TômTex, a sustainable biomaterial manufacturing company, has raised USD 2.25 million in a seed funding round led by Happiness Capital. SOSV, Parley for the Oceans, and MIH Capital also participated. TômTex previously raised USD 1.9 million in a pre-seed round, bringing its total funding to USD 4.15 million.
 The funding will be used by TômTex to make strategic hires and expand its manufacturing capabilities. The company has recently achieved a production milestone by producing 100 linear feet of its bio-based fabric that utilizes shell seafood waste and mushrooms.
</div>

TomTex

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