A Sydney-based biotech startup has pulled in new capital to support its development of a sustainable palm oil alternative.
Levur raised $1.2 million in a pre-Seed funding round led by Main Sequence and GrainCorp Ventures. SparkLabs Cultiv8 and UNSW Founders Program also made contributions.
The startup is based out of Macquarie University and is applying precision fermentation — similar to the process for brewing beer — to produce nature-identical oils, which can be used in manufacturing various consumer products. Levur’s goal is to deliver raw materials that enhance supply chains and mitigate the negative environmental impacts that can come with traditional oil harvesting.
“At Levur, we’re using advanced strain engineering to create high-performance ingredients that fit seamlessly into existing supply chains, without the environmental trade-offs of traditional industries like palm oil,” Levur CEO and Founder Tom Collier said in a statement.
