Founded in 1988, Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm focused on putting the entrepreneur first.  With offices in Silicon Valley, Boston and Shanghai, Highland has raised over $3 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 225 companies, resulting in category-defining businesses across consumer and enterprise technology.  Investments include 2U, Ask Jeeves, Bromium, Gigamon, Leap Motion, LevelUp, Lycos, MapQuest, Nebula, QD Vision, Qihoo 360, Quattro Wireless, RentJuice, Rent the Runway, Starent Networks, Sybase, Violin Memory, VistaPrint and WePay.  Highland also serves as a mentor for future entrepreneurs through Summer@Highland, a program that provides students and university-affiliated startups with the environment and resources to take their initiative to the next level.

Highland Capital Partners

Advent International is a private equity firms that focused on buyouts and growth equity investments in five core sectors.

Advent International

Lululemon

The intersection of beauty and technology to deliver hyper-personalized products.

Beauty Tech

<div>
 
 Geno is a California-based developer of biotechnology-based alternatives to critical ingredients in cosmetic formulations. The company&rsquo;s main product for the beauty industry is Brontide, a biobased butylene glycol used as a multifunctional ingredient in personal care products. Brontide can be used for many applications, including as a humectant, a carrier for extracts and actives, a preservative-boosting solvent, and a skin-feel modifier.
 
 
 Geno&rsquo;s other products include a plant-based nylon, Avela (natural 1,3-butanediol, a ketogenic ingredient for ingestible applications), renewable bio-BDO (bio-1,4-butanediol, a chemical intermediate for use in materials and products, including spandex, footwear, and plastics in electronics), palm oil alternatives across industries, and bio-based fragrances.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Geno has product development partnerships with 1) Unilever, Kao Corporation, and L&rsquo;Oreal, to scale and commercialize sustainable alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-based ingredients in a ~USD 120 million venture aimed at everyday cosmetics, personal care, and cleaning products (June 2022), and 2) Bio-Botanica, to develop a line of botanical extracts using Brontide (April 2018).
 
 
 Geno also has distribution partnerships with 1) Glenn LLC, to distribute Brontide in the US (May 2020), 2) Daicel Corporation, to distribute Brontide in the Asia-Pacific region (October 2019), and 3) Azelis, to distribute Brontide in Europe (March 2019).
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In July 2021, Geno raised USD 118 million in a Series C funding round led by Novo Holdings. The funds were used to scale production, invest in new technologies for sustainable materials development, and accelerate global expansion.
 
 
 
</div>

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

Bio-based Materials

<div>
 
 Based in California, Genomatica produces sustainable materials such as plastic and textile fiber made from plant-based alternatives to fossil fuels. The company claims that its bio-based production method lowers environmental impact by 93% compared to status quo methods.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The company's Bio-BDO (BDO refers to butanediol which is used in plastic) sustainable material is used in apparel, shoes, electronics, and automotive products. Its Bio-Nylon sustainable fiber is used in clothing and carpets. Genomatica also offers a sustainable chemical product called Brontide BG which is used primarily in cosmetics and personal care applications. Genomatica has also&nbsp; launched a new plant-based alternative to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), a fossil-fuel based chemical used in nylon, coatings, and adhesives. &nbsp;As of July 2021, the company possessed 2,000 issued or pending patents issued for its range of bio-based products.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company also licenses its technology and partners with companies to set up bio-based production facilities. As of July 2021, the company has partnered with companies including Covestro, Cargill, Novamont, Aquafil, ExxonMobil, Clariant, and BASF who will use the company&rsquo;s bio-based solutions. Covestro, under a new partnership deal signed in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7923">
 January 2022
 </a>
 , will use Genomatica&rsquo;s GENO HMD process for the commercial production of bio-based HMDA. Japanese multinational chemical manufacturer Asahi Kasei also signed an agreement 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9179">
 in March 2022
 </a>
 to use Genomatica&rsquo;s bio-based HMDA material and process technology to commercialize nylon 6,6.
 
 
 
 
 In 2016, the company built its first Bio-BDO production facility for the Italian bioplastic maker Novamont to produce its &ldquo;Mater-Bi bioplastics&rdquo; which is used to make products such as biodegradable, compostable plastic bags, food packages, and coffee capsules. The USD 110 million plant has the capacity to produce 40 million pounds of Bio-BDO per year.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Genomatica also partnered with Cargill in July 2021 to build a USD 300 million commercial bioplastic production plant that will reportedly triple the global production capacity of the Bio-BDO product to 100,000 tons per year when the facility becomes operational in 2024. For its Bio-Nylon product, Genomatica signed a multi-year agreement with European nylon producer Aquafil in 2020 to build a production facility that reportedly would increase the capacity of the material by 50x. The sustainable nylon material is expected to be used in leading clothing brands globally.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11167">
 In June 2022
 </a>
 , Genomatica and Unilever jointly invested USD 120 million to launch a joint venture for the commercialization of plant-based alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-based cleansing ingredients. Later, Kao Corporation and
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17206">
 L'Or&eacute;al 
 </a>
 joined the venture, bringing the collective member revenue to more than USD 100 billion.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 In 2020, the company reported that it generated revenue of USD 48 million which represents growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48% since 2016.&nbsp; 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4630">
 In July 2021
 </a>
 , the company raised USD 118 million in a Series C funding round led by Novo Holdings. The company expects to use the funds to scale production and accelerate the commercialization of its plant-based sustainable material products globally. 
 
</div>

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Based in Australia, Samsara Eco uses an enzyme-based biocatalyst technology to recycle plastic by breaking it down into molecular building blocks to produce new plastic products, which can be repeated infinitely.&nbsp;As of March 2024, the company operates a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21494">research laboratory</a> in Queanbeyan, regional New South Wales (NSW), which will scale up Samsara’s patented technology&nbsp; and is expected to be operational by the end of 2024, recycling 20,000 tons of plastic. The company aims to recycle 1.5 million tons of plastic per annum by 2030.Key customers and partnershipsIn February 2024, Samsara Eco partnered with athletic apparel brand <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26944">Lululemon</a> to unveil a version of Lululemon's Swiftly Tech long-sleeve top made from recycled nylon 6,6.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14206">November 2022</a>, the company raised AUD 54 million (~USD 34.7 million) in a Series A funding round, bringing its total funding up to USD 40.5 million to support the company in building its first commercial 20,000-tonne facility in Melbourne.In October 2023, Samsara received AUD 568,491 (~USD 372,000) from the Federal Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre’s (AMGC) Commercialisation Fund.

Zymochem provides a carbon-efficient bio-manufacturing platform that converts renewable feedstocks into bio-based materials without compromising price, performance, scale, or sustainability while minimizing CO2 loss during production. It also accelerates a real-zero economy by relieving carbon emissions in product development, use, and end-of-life.

Samsara Eco is an enviro-tech company creating infinite recycling to end plastic pollution.

Genomatica develops biobased process technologies that enable a better way to produce widely-used chemicals, from alternative feedstocks, with better economics, sustainability, and performance. Genomatica has earned widespread acclaim for its technology; has commercialized processes for the chemical butanediol (for biodegradable plastics and apparel) and for butylene glycol (cosmetics and personal care), and is working on bio-nylon. Awards include the Kirkpatrick Award, for “the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized in the world” and the ICIS Innovation Award for its Brontide(TM) butylene glycol.

Studio provides fitness products and workout classes. They connect fitness platform streams live and classes in the content are personalized using a combination of feedback and biometric data. They enable users to receive access to a selection of live classes including cardio, strength training, and yoga. Their fitness products include ankle weights, weights, heart rate monitors, care kits, fitness bands, towels, and yoga block products.

Lululemon is a technical athletic apparel company for yoga, running, training, and other sweaty pursuits. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for both leisure and athletic activities such as yoga and running. The company also sells fitness accessories, such as bags, yoga mats, and equipment.  Lululemon was founded in 1998 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

<div> Lululemon is a technical athletic apparel company for yoga, running, training, and other sweaty pursuits. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for both leisure and athletic activities such as yoga and running. The company also sells fitness accessories, such as bags, yoga mats, and equipment. Lululemon was founded in 1998 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. </div>

New products and new technologies are bringing high-end gym workouts to the home.

Lululemon

Featured Industries

Recent Updates

Samsara Eco and Lululemon unveil long-sleeve top made from recycled nylon 6,6

Monthly News Summary (September 2023)

Samsara Eco partners with Lululemon for textile recycling

Lululemon unveils its first bio-based nylon shirts in partnership with Genomatica

LanzaTech partners with lululemon on sustainable polyester

Bolt Threads partners with Lululemon to create yoga accessories from mushroom leather

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