Participated · Equity · Nov 2021

Lyre’s is a premium non-alcoholic spirits company founded in Australia in 2019 that produces alcohol-free spirit alternatives. The brand has won awards at spirits competitions in London, San Diego, and San Francisco. It recently completed a nearly £18 million ($34 million) funding round to bolster its supply chain and global inventory. The company plans to use the proceeds to boost production and inventory stocks to meet growing demand for non-alcoholic drinks. The raise coincided with the appointment of Paul Gloster as CEO as Lyre’s expands its leadership structure. Over the last four years the company has topped up funding with $16 million and $9 million and was valued at $500 million in 2021. Lyre’s also donates 100% of sales from its Pink London Spirit gin alternative to the McGrath Foundation. Lyre’s produces a portfolio of 14 premium non-alcoholic spirits and a recently launched range of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic cocktails designed to replicate popular alcoholic spirits and cocktails. The range claims to be capable of crafting 90% of the world’s best-selling cocktails and is positioned as a true-to-taste swap for alcoholic ingredients. The company sells in more than 60 countries across retail, on-trade, direct-to-consumer and travel channels, and has production in the UK, Germany, Australia and the US. Lyre’s has established an R&D division in partnership with beverage technology firm Döhler to develop a new product pipeline. The business is on course to be annualising £50 million in revenues by December of this year and has manufactured over one million bottles to date. Future plans highlighted include expanding marketing, significantly growing headcount, and co-investing with manufacturing partners to scale production capacity. Lyre’s produces a portfolio of 13 non‑alcoholic spirits formulated to replicate classic spirit flavors, and is positioned as the most awarded brand in the non‑alcoholic spirits category. Since launching in July 2019 the company has expanded into over 30 markets worldwide, selling both on‑ and off‑premise and via direct‑to‑consumer channels. Lyre’s focused on DTC during the pandemic and achieved more than 400% monthly recurring revenue growth since January 2020. The company plans continued portfolio growth, product innovation (including a Ready‑To‑Drink range), and accelerated market expansion. Management says manufacturing in multiple global locations, compliance for new markets, and expanded recruitment are priorities to evolve from a start‑up to a multinational beverage company. The brand emphasizes matching alcohol spirit flavors and styles to offer sober alternatives across demographics.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2020

Provectus Algae uses its proprietary Precision Photosynthesis® and AI‑enabled biomanufacturing platform to discover, develop, and produce algae products at scale. Its first commercial product, Surf'N'Turf®, is an algae‑based feed supplement for ruminant livestock that includes a seaweed shown to improve rumen digestion and reduce methane from enteric fermentation. The company integrates research, development, and production to control expression of target compounds for step‑changes in productivity and cost of goods. Provectus positions its platform for applications across agriculture, personal care, and other industries while emphasizing scalable, carbon‑negative solutions. Recent financing strengthens its balance sheet to scale manufacturing and accelerate commercial deployment of Surf'N'Turf. Provectus Algae is a biotechnology company that programs microalgae to produce specialty ingredients using its Precision Photosynthesis™ platform and a synthetic biology stack. The company focuses on photosynthesis‑based, carbon‑capturing biomanufacturing to deliver high‑performance, sustainable products that can complement fermentation‑based platforms. Provectus says its technologies enable production of valuable biochemicals and aims to make photosynthetic bioprocesses commonplace across the life science sector. The company received an undisclosed strategic investment from CJ BIO to accelerate commercialization of its specialty ingredients. Provectus expects to gain access to CJ BIO’s experience in scale‑up, process automation, and large‑scale biomolecule production as part of the partnership. The company is based in Noosaville, Australia. Provectus Algae is an Australian synthetic biology firm that programs microalgae to produce specialty and biosynthetic ingredients via its Precision Photosynthesis® platform. The company has developed a 24/7 automated closed-system biomanufacturing platform designed to move products from ideation to industry scale with continuity of production technology. Its current pipeline includes recombinant proteins and a suite of natural products, one of which already has a commercial agreement with a leading food and beverage ingredients supplier. Provectus plans to use new funding to expand its sustainable biomanufacturing platform, accelerate R&D and early-stage product development capabilities, and increase commercial production capacity. The technology converts carbon dioxide and light into high-value products and is positioned to address supply-chain challenges by offering end-to-end product development to large-scale biomanufacturing for corporate customers. Provectus Algae develops algae-based products and specialty ingredients for the food, agriculture and animal health sectors. The company operates a biotech foundry in Noosa Heads, Queensland, and uses a platform called Precision Photosynthesis that combines proprietary lighting, robotics and artificial intelligence to “program” algae by controlling CO2, nitrogen and other inputs. Provectus reports its first prototype increased production 20% and reduced operating costs 30%, while a second prototype raised productivity by 200%, enabling scale-up and production of natural, clean-label products. The startup has signed a commercial partnership with one of the world’s top five food and beverage companies and is initially targeting markets that reduce barriers to entry. Longer-term plans include producing biosynthetic compounds, therapeutic ingredients and environmentally friendlier agricultural products using genetic engineering and gene-editing tools like CRISPR, contingent on regulatory development. Founder and CEO Nusqe Spanton draws on experience in the pearl oyster industry in Indonesia and aims to optimize a wide range of algae species to unlock diverse commercial applications.