Evolved By Nature, the company creating a library of Activated Silk molecules from natural silk protein, has closed $120M in Series C financing.
The round was led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), part of the C$242 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, and Senator Investment Group, with participation from existing investors including Mousse Partners, Chanel, Jeff Vinik, The Kraft Group, Roy Disney and Emerald Development Managers.
Designed to advance human health, product performance, and the circular economy, Activated Silk molecules serve as renewably-sourced sustainable chemicals, bioactive ingredients and novel therapeutics for use in markets including apparel, personal care and medicine.
The financing accelerates commercialization of the Activated Silk technology platform, which will move global markets away from dependence on synthetics and fossil fuel derivatives and expand the boundaries of regenerative medicine.
Production boost
The round coincides with the launch of Evolved By Nature’s manufacturing facility in Walpole, Mass., which will ramp up production volumes to 900 metric tons of Activated Silk per year.
This financing advances global sales for Evolved By Nature’s sustainable alternatives to the petrochemical coatings used by the leather and textile industries today. In the last year, Evolved by Nature’s biodegradable finishes have been adopted by fashion brands including Anya Hindmarch, nylon mills including Alpine Creations and Apex Holdings, and leather tanneries including Richard Hoffmans GmbH & Co. KG, Cyclica Srl and Curtidos Bengala.
The funding also progresses the launch of Activated Silk skin barrier enhancing ingredients in both brand-owned and third-party personal care products, which serve as natural replacements to fossil fuel derivatives like petrolatum and harsh, synthetic ingredients like retinoids. In parallel, Evolved by Nature will pursue the discovery of therapeutics that effectively improve the skin and treat often overlooked conditions.
“We’ve crossed a critical planetary boundary. Overuse of fossil fuel-derived petrochemicals has altered the biochemistry of the human body and the planet’s life support systems,” said Dr. Greg Altman, CEO and co-founder of Evolved By Nature.
“With TVG’s support, we can now reimagine new therapeutics and global supply chains that foster healthier relationships between industries and ecosystems, focusing first on skin treatments and high-performance coatings for leather and apparel.”
“With this investment, we can now make our library of Activated Silk molecules available to global development partners so, together, we can enhance the performance potential of – essentially – any surface,” said Rebecca Lacouture, president, COO and co-founder of Evolved by Nature.
‘Unlocked potential’
Evolved By Nature’s new production facility opened in May 2022 and currently produces 150 metric tons of Activated Silk per year – a 500% increase in capacity from 2021. This financing supports full operation and the capacity to generate 900 metric tons of Activated Silk per year in 2024.
Based on Evolved By Nature’s calculations, this would represent 900M jars of petrochemical free skincare, 150M square feet of biodegradable, polyurethane-free leather, sustainable finishing chemistry for 195M pieces of performance apparel, or a replacement for 7,200 metric tons of non-biodegradable petrochemical surfactants regularly washed into waterways via skin cleaning products.
“We believe there is vast unlocked potential in utilizing silk protein to produce innovative and sustainable products of a high quality that will advance the health of people and the planet,” said Olivia Steedman, executive managing director of TVG.
“Evolved By Nature has a compelling vision to break through new scientific boundaries to reduce our reliance on problematic chemicals and build better, more sustainable supply chains in the process. We’re delighted to partner with them in executing this vision and growing their operations globally.”
About Evolved By Nature
Founded in 2013 in Boston, MA, Evolved By Nature’s. Activated Silk biotechnology leverages natural silk protein to create sustainable molecules with the potential to protect, repair, and enhance the barrier function of anything with a surface.