Cambridge, UK: Colorifix, a biotech company that has pioneered the first entirely biological dyeing process, has raised a Series B round of £18m led by H&M Group via its investment arm H&M CO:LAB. Existing investors, Sagana and Cambridge Enterprise also followed on, along with participation from Bombyx Growth Fund, PDS Ventures, Regeneration.VC and newly-formed SynBioVen. By replacing industrial chemistry with biology at every step of the textile dyeing process, Colorifix is at the forefront of the industry’s transition to a more sustainable era.
The company is now entering industrial scale-up following its first customer implementation at RDD (Valérius Group) in Portugal, where last year product was launched with H&M and Pangaia. The Series B funding will support a trebling in team size as Colorifix prepares to expand further into Europe and Asia, implementing its technology into the supply chains of several leading players in the global fashion industry. The majority of staff are currently spread across HQ at Norwich Research Park, where Colorifix has labs and offices, and a demonstrator site in Cambridge, where the full technology process is showcased. It also has a London presence at The Mills Fabrica, another investor in the business, and is in the process of setting up a subsidiary in Portugal, where it is opening an office.
Chris Hunter, Chief Operating Officer of Colorifix commented: “We are delighted that H&M CO:LAB has led this round, following smaller investments in our Seed and Series A. They have been extremely supportive from the start and have shown that they are the right partners to help us deliver on our growth plan. We are equally thankful that we have such an excellent overall group of strategic and thematic investors that bring deep domain expertise and strong international networks across our key areas of focus and countries of operation.”
Pascal Brun, Head of Sustainability for H&M and a board director of Colorifix added: “We’re thrilled to continue to grow our relationship with Colorifix and its fantastic team. To support them during their exciting next phase of growth in scaling their innovative game-changing technology not only speaks directly to H&M Group’s sustainability work, but more importantly has the potential to positively impact the wider industry.”
Colorifix plate
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