Octarine Bio has secured €5 million in new funding, bringing its total Series A financing to €12.8 million, including earlier pre-Series A capital, as the Danish biotech pushes to scale a new platform for sustainable, bio-based pigments.
Based in Denmark, Octarine is using precision fermentation to engineer microbial systems that produce natural pigments as high-performance alternatives to fossil-based dyes, with an emphasis on integration with existing textile manufacturing and dyeing workflows. The company said the new capital will be used to accelerate industrial-scale validation and the commercial rollout of PurePalette, its natural pigment platform that delivers the full color spectrum through a single production process.
Octarine positions PurePalette as a fully bio-based color platform built for color strength, performance, and stability while maintaining a low environmental impact profile, with potential applications across textiles as well as adjacent categories such as food and beverage and cosmetics. The company also said the financing will support scaling production of its first three flagship colors alongside the execution of commercial partnerships already underway, while expanding product development into additional industries.
The Series A round included support from existing investors and added new backers, including The Footprint Firm, Edaphon, Unconventional Ventures, DSM-Firmenich Ventures, Oskare Capital, and a group of business angels. Octarine highlighted participation from Per Falholt and Steen Riisgaard, former CSO and CEO of Novozymes, now part of Novonesis.
KEY QUOTES:
“The completion of our Series A is a pivotal step for Octarine. It enables us to scale production of our first three flagship PurePalette colors, execute on commercial partnerships already in place, and expand product development of our safe and sustainable pigments into new industries. We deeply appreciate the unwavering support from our existing investors and are excited to welcome new partners who bring additional industry-relevant capabilities.”
Nethaji Gallage, CEO and Co-Founder, Octarine Bio
“We are thrilled to continue backing Octarine in bringing their groundbreaking technology to market. The team is world-class, and the potential for bio-based colour in the textile space and beyond is enormous.”
Jonas Ahm-Lundgren, Partner, The Footprint Firm
“PurePalette has the potential to drastically reduce the environmental impact of textile dyeing, one of the most polluting steps in the textile value chain. By fitting into existing dyeing processes, the pigments can be widely adopted and drive meaningful change across the industry. We are excited to support the team as they move into this next phase.”
Anna Zimmermann, Senior Associate, Edaphon
