Uluu raised $16 million in Series A funding to construct a demonstration plant and scale technology that transforms seaweed into a natural alternative to plastic for industrial production.
The funding round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, with participation from Main Sequence, Novel Investments (the family office of one of the world’s largest textile groups), Startmate, and a consortium of impact and family investors including Fairground and Trinity Ventures.
Uluu’s next-generation materials match the performance of conventional plastics and are compatible with existing plastic manufacturing equipment. Unlike fossil-fuel plastics, these materials are reusable, recyclable, home compostable, and marine biodegradable, breaking down naturally without releasing microplastics. The materials are strong, lightweight, waterproof, non-toxic, and climate positive at scale.
At commercial volumes, Uluu’s production process can sequester and avoid up to ~5kg CO₂ equivalent for every 1kg of material produced, compared with ~3kg emitted by conventional plastics. The technology has the potential to reduce global CO₂ emissions by more than 2 gigatonnes per year.
Proceeds from the Series A round will expand production from a 100kg/year pilot facility to a 10-tonne/year demonstration plant in Western Australia, enabling delivery of commercial volumes to customers. Uluu is already partnering with global brands across cosmetics, fashion, and automotive sectors, including Quiksilver, Papinelle, and Audi.
“After four years’ work developing this technology, including two years’ running our pilot plant, we’re excited to take this next step and start delivering meaningful volumes of our materials to customers,” said Michael Kingsbury, co-founder and co-CEO of Uluu. “The demonstration plant is a critical step in showing Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”
Dr. Julia Reisser, co-founder and co-CEO, highlighted seaweed as one of the most sustainable resources on Earth. “Seaweed grows quickly and gets everything it needs from the sun and the sea,” she said. “It locks away CO₂ and helps clean up pollutants from the ocean. By harnessing seaweed, Uluu is producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact on the environment, while ending plastic pollution.”
The Series A round positions Uluu for future growth, with plans underway for a commercial-scale facility capable of producing thousands of tonnes annually to serve major global markets.
“At BPI, we invest in companies driving transformative innovation with the potential to become a global category leader,” said Christian Teichmann, CEO of Burda Principal Investments. “Having first invested in Uluu in 2023, we’re excited to further deepen our partnership as the company scales its pioneering technology. Uluu is redefining how materials can be produced more sustainably at industrial scale, and we look forward to supporting Julia, Michael, and their team on this next stage of their journey.”