Paris-based biotech startup baCta has secured €3.3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by OVNI Capital. The funding will support the development of carbon-negative natural rubber using engineered microorganisms and renewable feedstocks.
- Founded in 2024 by Mathieu Nohet, baCta specializes in producing biosynthetic, carbon-negative natural rubber using engineered microorganisms, specifically E. coli, and renewable feedstocks like glucose, with plans to diversify into acetate and carbon.
- The startup has developed a proof of concept that enables the polymerization of rubber inside bacteria using synthetic AI enzyme technology, allowing for carbon-neutral production with significantly reduced CO2 emissions.
- baCta's first market focus is on luxury fashion and apparel brands, providing premium products like shoes and bags that need smaller amounts of material. As the company increases production, it plans to expand into industrial uses, such as rubber parts for machinery, while keeping its prices competitive with traditional rubber.
Details of the deal
- The pre-seed round was led by OVNI Capital, a Paris-based venture capital firm that invests early in companies with the potential to become global market leaders, offering funding from €250,000 to €2 million.
- The round also saw participation from Kima Ventures, SHARPSTONE Capital, another.vc, and notable business angels, including Thibaud Elziere, members of the Hexa team, and Nicolas Morin-Forest, co-founder of Gourmey.
- With the €3.3 million in funding, baCta will grow its team of top scientists and enhance its production capabilities. The goal is to engineer a microbial strain that can produce high-quality natural rubber at a pilot scale, leading to a pre-industrial demonstrator.
"With this funding, we’re expanding our team of top-tier scientists and scaling up our production capabilities. Our next milestone is to engineer a microbial strain capable of producing high-quality natural rubber at a pilot scale, paving the way for a pre-industrial demonstrator," founder of baCta, Mathieu Nohet, commented.
