Spiber develops Brewed Protein™ materials — lab-grown, plant-based fibers, resins, and films manufactured through proprietary microbial fermentation and DNA-level protein design. The company’s platform enables customized molecular engineering of nature-inspired protein polymers and targets apparel textiles as its primary focus. To date, 15 domestic and international brands have launched products using Spiber’s materials. Spiber completed a fundraising round totaling over JPY 10 billion to accelerate mass production and global sales and to strengthen its production system and R&D platform. Founded in September 2007 and based in Tsuruoka, Japan, the company positions Brewed Protein™ as a sustainable alternative to conventional animal-, plant-, and synthetic materials. Spiber emphasizes its role in advancing a circular economy and plans to expand collaborations with apparel brands and partners to meet expected demand. Spiber develops Brewed Protein™ materials using synthetic biology, polymer science and microbial fermentation that use agricultural feedstocks as primary raw materials. Its Brewed Protein polymers are engineered as substitutes for cashmere, wool, fur, leather, silk and other animal- and petroleum-based materials and—per Spiber’s preliminary LCA—offer reduced natural resource consumption and potential for lower GHG emissions versus cashmere production. The company emphasizes a vertically-integrated R&D approach that it says yields superior productivity and material features, positioning it to benefit from rising ESG demand. Spiber was slated to begin mass production at a plant in Rayong, Thailand within 2021 and is constructing a second mass-production facility with ADM in Iowa, USA, targeted to begin operating in 2023 at the earliest. Financially, Spiber completed a financing that resulted in a reported post-money valuation of approximately JPY 133 billion; the offering price was JPY 4,500 per share with 29,565,875 outstanding shares after the capital increase. Founded in September 2007 and based in Yamagata, Japan, Spiber aims to scale industrial production of protein materials for applications across apparel, automotive and other industries.

Total raised

$97M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2024