Suzano Ventures, the venture capital arm of Brazilian pulp giant Suzano, recently led a $12 million Series A round of financing for Simplifyber, a bio-based materials company.It also follows the company's $4.2 million seed round that closed in July 2022 . The funding will support Simplifyber's growth by enabling the company to strengthen its materials science and mechanical engineering capabilities, scale up its manufacturing, accelerate its partnering and business development efforts in new geographies and areas, and build pilot-scale facilities to bring the cost of doing business closer to traditional textile production.
Simplifyber was founded in 2021 and is led by CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang, who has had a 20+ year career as a fashion designer and director at leading fashion houses such as Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Dirk Bikkembergs and Edun Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Dirk Bikkembergs and Edun. Suzano has been one of the company's main fiber suppliers since its inception.
Simplifyber has created “garments of the future” through its soft, cotton-like biodegradable clothing and footwear, which are made by injecting a proprietary natural fiber liquid called Fybron™ into 3D molds without cutting, sewing or weaving, eliminating many of the production steps required for traditional textile manufacturing. These “garments and shoes” are made by injecting a proprietary natural fiber liquid called Fybron™ into 3D molds without cutting, sewing or weaving, eliminating many of the production steps required for traditional textile manufacturing, and are used to create a wide range of biobased and biodegradable textiles, such as textured shoe uppers, bags and upholstery.
Simplifyber's cellulose formula is 100% natural, made from a combination of wood pulp and other plant materials and non-toxic additives, making it a fully biodegradable product that can easily be returned to nature and recycled into paper and clothing.
The startup has already partnered with Danish fashion band Ganni to launch its first product, a shoe upper made from cellulose material, in September 2024 at Paris Fashion Week.
Simplifyber has transformed textile production with its patented, single-step process that completely eliminates textile waste and water contamination in the dyeing process. At the same time, Simplifyber says its solution reduces the number of steps by 60 percent and reduces the amount of material that ends up going to waste in the fashion supply chain by 35 percent. The company has reportedly launched several pilot programs with Fortune 500 brands to produce biodegradable shoe uppers, handbags, and even car interiors.
