Paris-based startup altrove, a climate tech product manufacturer, has raised €3.7 million in a pre-seed round to develop alternatives to critical materials. The fresh funding saw participation from Contrarian Ventures and Emblem.
- Founded in 2024 by Joonatan Laulainen and Thibaud Martin, altrove develops alternatives to essential materials that primarily contain rare earth elements. The company aims to achieve climate goals while maintaining geopolitical autonomy and economic competitiveness.
- Altrove focuses on finding the optimal recipe to manufacture these alternative materials at scale using an automated lab, accelerating the discovery process up to 100 times with its proprietary characterization technology.
Details of the deal
- The investment was led by Contrarian Ventures, a Vilnius, Berlin, and London-based venture capital firm that invests in climate tech founders, and Emblem, a venture capital firm that funds startups across France, Denmark, and Sweden.
“We are thrilled to partner with the exceptional Altrove team and support their ambitious mission to harness AI for practical industrial applications. Their work is crucial to strengthening Europe’s supply chain resilience for critical materials, reaching climate targets, and maintaining economic competitiveness,” Founder and managing partner at Contrarian Ventures, Rokas Peciulaitis, stated.
- The fresh funding also saw participation from business angels, including Thomas Clozel, CEO of Owkin; Julien Chaumond, CTO of HuggingFace; and Nikolaj Deichmann of 3Shape.
- Altrove plans to construct its automated lab by the end of the year and sell its first asset within 18 months.
