Samsara Eco, an enviro-tech innovator, announced it has secured AUD$100 million in its latest Series A+ funding round to eradicate plastic waste and prevent it from ending up in landfills or being incinerated.
This round was led by Temasek, a global investment company, and Main Sequence, an Australian deep tech investment fund, alongside new and existing investors including Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures), and DCVC.
“Plastics have been an environmental disaster with almost every piece of the 9 billion tonnes ever made still on the planet. But almost all plastic is reusable and recyclable with the right technology,” said Paul Riley, CEO and Founder of Samsara Eco.
The newly acquired capital will enable Samsara Eco to scale its enzymatic recycling capabilities.
The company said it plans to construct new commercial facilities in Southeast Asia over the next few years.
These facilities will recycle millions of tonnes of plastic waste, including discarded textiles and packaging, to produce tens of thousands of tonnes of monomers, the molecular building blocks of plastics, which will be turned into new products, creating a circular economy.
“We’re on a mission to end plastic waste and with it, repair our climate,” Riley added.
The company will also expand its global team of chemists, engineers, and technicians and increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.
Samsara Eco’s patented recycling technology, EosEco, uses biophysics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, including AI, to create enzymes that break down plastic waste into raw materials.
These materials are then integrated into existing manufacturing processes to create new products.
“We’re creating a first-of-its-kind infinite recycling process that is genuinely better for our planet. EosEco reduces the end-to-end recycling time, while also operating at a lower temperature and pressure to ultimately reduce waste and carbon emissions. By solving the circularity piece of the puzzle for all plastics, we’re making it possible to imagine a more sustainable future,” Riley explained.
Since its launch in 2020, Samsara Eco has been at the forefront of innovations in infinite recycling.
Earlier this year, in partnership with its first textile partner, Samsara Eco unveiled the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product and also helped introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester.
Phil Morle, partner at Main Sequence, expressed his support, saying, “Samsara Eco demonstrates how science can deliver a real solution to huge problems — in this case, the accumulation of plastic waste and the continued need to produce new plastics from fossil fuels.”
He added, “The team are already making significant strides to eliminate textile waste and will be vital to creating a more sustainable future. We are proud to back the company again as it continues to scale.”
The latest funding builds upon Samsara Eco’s AUD 56 million Series A in 2022, which supported its growth.
The company’s first proof-of-concept facility operates in Mitchell, ACT (Australia), with construction of a new innovation campus in Jerrabomberra, NSW (Australia) currently underway.
This campus will offer additional facilities for global brands to partner, test, and create with Samsara Eco.
“We are proud to back the company again as it continues to scale.” Morle added, highlighting the critical role Samsara Eco will play in creating a more sustainable future.
