Seaweed materials firm Loliware announces it has raised $6M in its latest round of pre-Series A funding, bringing the startup’s total raise to $15.4M. According to the startup, this currently makes it the best-funded seaweed materials tech company on the market.
Company officials said they will use the funds to focus on driving growth in the seaweed materials market, launch new products and novel seaweed resins, and expand the company’s research and development capabilities.
“What Loliware has created is revolutionary and is on the cusp of a paradigm shift in plastics”
“Climate change is a worldwide problem, and our pelletized seaweed resins are a step toward a solution,” said Loliware founder and CEO Sea F. Briganti. “By reducing CO2 emissions and strengthening the ocean-based ‘blue economy,’ our seaweed-derived products make it clear that regenerating the Earth is good business.”
Briganti adds, “Demand for seaweed-based products promotes the creation of seaweed-farming operations in coastal communities worldwide. This not only creates jobs where they are needed most but these undersea forests filter and oxygenate oceans while capturing carbon.”
Founded in 2016, Loliware is focused on replacing single-use plastics with seaweed-derived alternatives, including seaweed-based resin.
“Designed to disappear”
Using its innovative SEA (Seaweed-derived, Emission-avoiding, Alternatives to plastic) Technology, Loliware produces seaweed resins that are fully compatible with existing manufacturing plastic extruding equipment. These sustainable materials, the company says, provide a novel and cost-effective way to replace single-use plastics at scale.
Seaweed is a regenerative material Loliware says can be processed into a wide variety of products that easily compost and enrich the soil. Loliware’s technology is currently being applied to single-use items such as straws, cups and utensils, including its first product launch, The Blue Carbon Straw.
This most recent round of investors included CityRock Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures Group, Geekdom Fund, Ehukai Investments and 5 Pillars Capital.
Straws and more
“We are so excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Loliware,” said Whitney Casey, Venture Partner at L Catterton. “The potential for their patented SEA technology to disrupt the broader materials market is huge. Straws are just the beginning for Sea and her team.”
“What Loliware has created is revolutionary and is on the cusp of a paradigm shift in plastics,” said Alumni Ventures managing partner Cainon Coates. “By removing adoption and scale barriers, plastic manufacturers can simply swap plastic pellets for their seaweed pellets. The impact and upside potential are massive.”
