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Samsara Eco, an Australian deep tech company that helped introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester earlier this year, has announced the successful close of a US$65 million ($100 million) Series A+ funding round which will go towards building new commercial facilities in the next few years.
The round, led by Temasek and Main Sequence, follows a $54 million Series A in 2022. A spokesperson clarified the latest raise is on top of that amount.
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.
"Plastics have been an environmental disaster with almost every piece of the 9 billion tonnes ever made still on the planet," says Samsara Eco CEO and founder Paul Riley.
"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."
Riley says the ability to 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," he says.
"We’ve already made significant traction in the textile space but this is just the beginning."
The new facilities to be built from the latest capital injection are expected 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.
Other verticals where Samsara Eco plans to utilise the infinite recycling technology include 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," says Riley.
"By solving the circularity piece of the puzzle for all plastics, we’re making it possible to imagine a more sustainable future."
Participants in the Series A+ include new and existing backers such as Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures) and DCVC.
"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," says Main Sequence partner Phil Morle, who alongside Riley is a director of Samsara Eco.
"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 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.
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