Biotechnology Company Set to Disrupt Synthetic and Fossil Fuel-Derived Supply Chains in Leather, Apparel and Personal Care with Scale-Up to 900 Metric Tons of Annual Activated Silk™ Production Volume
BOSTON, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolved By Nature, the company creating a proprietary library of Activated Silk™ molecules from natural silk protein, announced today it closed $120M in Series C financing, 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.
This 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. The round coincides with the launch of Evolved By Nature's state-of-the-art, full-scale manufacturing facility, 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, high-performance 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 promising, powerful 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," added Dr. Rebecca Lacouture, President, COO and Co-Founder of Evolved by Nature, "so, together, we can enhance the performance potential of – essentially – any surface."
Evolved By Nature's newly-minted, full-scale production facility in Walpole, Massachusetts 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."
Citigroup acted as the sole placement agent on this transaction. Nixon Peabody represented Evolved By Nature.
About Evolved By Nature
Founded in 2013 in Boston, MA, Evolved By Nature is a biotechnology company that creates renewably sourced solutions to human health needs. 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. Enabling the next generation of products that advance the health of people and the planet, Evolved By Nature has unlocked applications for Activated Silk biotechnology within textiles, personal care, aesthetic and medical treatments, therapeutics and more, with limitless possibilities. www.evolvedbynature.com
About Teachers' Venture Growth
Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG) focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in cutting-edge technology companies worldwide. We partner with founders with bold missions, looking to expand their product offering, scale geographically, and become the leaders in their markets. We bring long-term thinking and active investing to help build better businesses and a better world. We think globally and act locally through our direct presence in San Francisco, Toronto, London and Hong Kong.
TVG is part of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers'), a global investor with net assets of C$241.6 billion as of December 31, 2021. We invest in more than 50 countries in everything from equities to real estate to infrastructure and venture growth, to deliver retirement income for 333,000 current and retired teachers in Ontario. With offices in Hong Kong, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 350 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.7% since the plan's founding in 1990. At Ontario Teachers', we don't just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in.
For more information, visit otpp.com/teachersventuregrowth and follow us on LinkedIn.
