Xias Bio Limited raises £3.8M in Series Seed Funding to disrupt the protein-based ingredients market
Sustainability-focused biotech company Xias Bio Limited has secured £3.8M in Series Seed funding led by Happiness Capital. Their innovative, animal-free multifunctional proteins are poised to transform the cosmetics and life sciences sectors, delivering versatile solutions across various industries.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND (04 September 2024) – Xias Bio Limited, a leading provider of bespoke sustainable and animal-free multifunctional proteins, today announced that it has raised £3.8 million in Series Seed funding, led by Happiness Capital with participation from SOSV, Good Startup, CPT Capital, and BoxOne Ventures.
Animal-derived proteins and protein-based materials are used in many industries, from high-volume food and cosmetics applications to low-volume life science and pharmaceutical applications. Evolving consumer and regulatory demands for ethical, sustainable/greener, and higher-performance protein materials/ingredients drive demand for animal-free proteins. Xias Bio is committed to replacing animal-derived proteins with viable, customisable, and multifunctional proteins produced using its LiteProtein platform and fermentation.
Xias Bio’s revolutionary proteins are custom-designed to meet the functional needs of many applications. Multifunctional proteins are designed using the unique LiteProtein platform molecule by fusing several unrelated functional peptide sequences and then produced at high yield using microbial fermentation.
Unlike other recombinant proteins that replace animal-derived proteins, Xias Bio’s proteins do not require specialised microbial strains to be produced at high yields. They can incorporate challenging peptide sequences, maintain high yields and, more importantly, exhibit greatly improved functionality and performance owing to their multifunctional design. This has generated strong pull and early sales within cosmetics and personal care, Xias Bio’s beachhead market, where Xias’ multifunctional proteins are being incorporated into the product portfolios of ingredients manufacturers and brands.
David Harvey, CEO of Xias Bio: “Our proteins represent a new paradigm in performance and sustainability. With this investment, we can accelerate the deployment and development of new proteins into several markets and rapidly bring positive change to animal welfare, planetary health and consumer benefit.”
Eric Ng, CEO of Happiness Capital, Lead investor: “There is a lot of demand now for animal-free proteins; we believe that Xias’ approach could fulfil this demand and surpass the competition in terms of performance and economics owing to their platform approach and unique business model. With ongoing customer partnerships and a solid sales pipeline, we are confident that Xias Bio will grow from strength to strength.”
This investment will allow the company to grow the team, streamline and accelerate operations, secure new opportunities in Xias Bio’s beachhead market and investigate other high-value applications within life science.
About Xias Bio
Xias Bio is an early-stage protein biotechnology company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Its mission is to reshape the protein ingredients market by harnessing cutting-edge biotech to usher in a new sustainable and animal-free source of high-performance proteins that benefit consumers and the planet. Xias Bio is backed by Happiness Capital, SOSV, Good Startup, CPT Capital, and BoxOne Ventures.
About Happiness Capital
Happiness Capital is a global Venture Capital firm that supports entrepreneurs to co-create a happier world by growing a global community of innovative and like-minded companies in the areas of Sustainable Environment, Sustainable Food Systems, Life Sciences for Health, and Trust. Happiness Capital is a Certified B Corp and measures ‘Happiness Return’ to ensure all the major stakeholders of our portfolio companies are benefited. Our geographic coverage includes UK, US, Europe, Israel, Japan, and China.