PACT has raised a €10.7 million seed round to advance the development and reach of pioneering biomaterials inspired by nature. The investment came from Hoxton Ventures, ReGen Ventures, Celsius Industries (formerly UNTITLED) and Polytechnique Ventures.
It will see the company scale-up production capabilities for its groundbreaking collagen technology, invest in further biomaterial breakthroughs, and bring new foundational materials to the world of fashion, luxury, and beyond.
To enable this expansion, the company has invested in a new 13,820 square foot headquarters in Cambridge, including a laboratory and pilot production facility. The new facility will move PACT into a phase of commercialisation and global growth.
Yudí Ding, CEO at PACT, commented: “Our commitment at PACT is to craft beautiful, adaptable materials inspired by and derived from the natural world. We have poured energy and creativity into our innovations, ensuring they can meet the standards of the world’s most prestigious brands and respect their heritage, whilst also being truly scalable. By partnering with luxury Maisons on these new foundational materials, we stand on the cusp of a new era of collaboration between science and elegance; one where sustainability is fused and suffused with beauty.”
PACT was founded in 2020 by scientist and engineer Yudí Ding (CEO) and physicist and engineer Niels Ramay (COO). The foundations of the company were laid during Ding’s PhD research at the University of Cambridge. His work on proteins found within and around cells inspired the idea for a biomaterial derived entirely from nature. The pair have shaped the science which makes it possible to create beautiful biomaterials from natural proteins, herbal extracts and minerals that also have the flexibility and creative potential of traditional materials including but not limited to leather and fabrics.
PACT’s inaugural material is Oval; the world’s first scalable and climate-responsible biomaterial crafted from natural collagen. Elegant and versatile, the impact of the company’s first-to-market material is already rippling across the fashion industry, with a range of the world’s leading luxury maisons partnering with PACT to embrace the material’s creative potential.
Following this raise, and with a range of top luxury fashion brands already engaged in long-term scale-up and industrialisation plans for Oval, the PACT team will now expand across new industries, including footwear, interiors, and automotive, as well as discover and develop a wider suite of game-changing biomaterials.
Charles Seely, General Partner at Hoxton Ventures, who led the round, said: “We have been incredibly impressed by Yudi, Niels, and the wider PACT team; one that comprises some of the most exciting talent we’ve seen at Seed stage. The company’s innovative biomaterial technology combines the aesthetics—such as touch, look, and refined ageing—of heritage materials, with high-performance and scalable economic production. This meets the rigorous demands of leading companies in luxury and beyond. We’re excited to be part of their journey.”
Dan Fitzgerald, Managing Partner at ReGen Ventures, commented: “We’ve met with plenty of new materials companies but struggled to find any that could actually meet the performance standards of incumbent materials, let alone exceed them. The PACT team have developed a platform that can utilise natural collagen sources to create beautiful materials that have exceeded the strict requirements of the world’s luxury fashion houses. What’s more, they have a pathway to produce materials in a genuinely scalable way.”
Bertie Crawley, Founding Partner at Celsius Industries, added: “We have reviewed many companies building solutions in this space and found PACT’s drop-in, mechano-chemical process to be the most compelling. Not only have they been embraced as a trusted commercial partner by leading luxury brands, but they’re able to achieve significant scale by working with existing manufacturing partners. We are excited to work with Yudi, Niels and the team and to continue helping them accelerate their path to industrialization as they decarbonize the fashion industry.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/09/cambridge-based-pact-raises-e10-7-million-to-industrialise-scaleable-biomaterials-made-from-collagen/
