Aussie enviro-tech scale-up Samsara Eco secures $100 million in Series A+ funding to help end plastic waste
Samsara Eco, the enviro-tech innovator has today announced it has raised AUD$100 million (USD$65 million) in its latest funding round. Led by global investment company, Temasek and Australian deep tech investment fund, Main Sequence, as well as a cohort of new and existing backers including Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures) and DCVC, the funding brings Samsara Eco one step closer to eliminating plastic waste, and ensuring it never ends up in landfill or incinerated again.
The capital will help Samsara Eco scale its enzymatic recycling capabilities, with new commercial facilities to be built in South East Asia in the next few years. The facilities will recycle millions of tonnes of plastic waste like discarded textiles and packaging, to produce tens of thousands of tonnes of monomers (the molecular building blocks of plastics), which will be turned into brand new products, creating a truly circular loop.
The company will also scale-up its global team of chemists, engineers and technicians, as well as increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.
“Plastics have been an environmental disaster with almost every piece of the 9 billion tonnes ever made still on the planet. But almost all plastic is reusable and recyclable with the right technology. We’re on a mission to end plastic waste and with it, repair our climate,” said Paul Riley (pictured) Founder and CEO of Samsara Eco. “The ability to infinitely recycle plastic in an environmentally friendly way is a game changer for brands and our planet. Our enzymatic recycling technology makes it easy for brands in almost every industry to meet their sustainability and decarbonisation goals by creating a circular loop for plastics. We’ve already made significant traction in the textile space but this is just the beginning.”
Since launching in 2020, Samsara Eco has led world-first innovations in infinite recycling, pioneering the ability to recycle plastics including nylon 6,6 and polyester. Earlier this year in partnership with its first textile partner, Samsara Eco unveiled the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product and also helped to introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester.
Samsara Eco’s patented recycling technology, EosEco uses a combination of biophysics, chemistry, biology and computer science (such as AI) to create a family of plastic-eating enzymes. The enzymes break down plastic waste (like textiles made from nylon and polyester) into raw materials, which are then seamlessly integrated into existing manufacturing processes to make new products.
Samsara Eco’s plans to scale its technologies to infinitely recycle all forms of plastics, which can be used within existing cross-sector supply chains like in automotive, electronics, and consumer packaged goods.
“We’re creating a first-of-its-kind infinite recycling process that is genuinely better for our planet. EosEco reduces the end-to-end recycling time, while also operating at a lower temperature and pressure to ultimately reduce waste and carbon emissions. By solving the circularity piece of the puzzle for all plastics, we’re making it possible to imagine a more sustainable future,” added Riley.
Phil Morle, Partner at Main Sequence commented, “Samsara Eco demonstrates how science can deliver a real solution to huge problems — in this case, the accumulation of plastic waste and the continued need to produce new plastics from fossil fuels. Deep tech venture capital fuels this science with a rapid path to market, helping accelerate impactful change in the world. We are steadfast believers in this mission and Samsara Eco. The team are already making significant strides to eliminate textile waste and will be vital to creating a more sustainable future. We are proud to back the company again as it continues to scale.”
The latest funding builds upon Samsara Eco’s AUD$56 million (USD$37 million) Series A in 2022 which has underpinned its growth. The company’s first proof of concept facility continues to operate out of Mitchell, ACT, with construction of Samsara Eco’s new innovation campus in Jerrabomberra, NSW currently underway. This campus will provide additional facilities for global brands to partner, test and create with Samsara Eco.
