Seprify 13.4 million euros Series A financing

The Swiss biomaterials startup Seprify has reached an important milestone in the industrialization of sustainable materials. The company has taken its cellulose platform from the pilot phase into a procurable industrial production and raised 13.4 million euros (CHF 12.25 million) in Series A funding in parallel.

The round was supported by strategic and financial investors, including the Inter IKEA Group, the sustainable growth fund Una Terra Early Growth Fund, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Kickfund and other investors from the circular economy environment.

Seprify intends to use the capital to scale production, establish industrial supply chains and commercialize its materials in several industries.

From pilot projects to industrial supply contracts

The company's technology is based on cellulose-based high-performance materials that are intended to replace fossil or emission-intensive raw materials in various industries.

While pilot projects and tests with industrial partners were previously the main focus, the new production status now enables a decisive step: companies will be able to purchase Seprify materials regularly and in larger quantities in future, an important factor for long-term supply contracts and strategic procurement. This will allow manufacturers to move directly from initial testing to repeatable industrial supply.

More than 100 companies are testing the technology

Seprify's platform was developed together with industry partners and has now reached a technological maturity level of TRL 7 to TRL 9. This is a stage at which technologies have already been validated under real production conditions. The company is currently working with more than 100 potential customer organizations. These range from early material tests to initial commercial supply agreements.

Demand is particularly strong in three industry sectors:

• Cosmetics and personal care
• Food and pet food
• Coatings and industrial surfaces

Sustainable alternative to titanium dioxide

A key aim of Seprify technology is to replace high-emission materials.

Titanium dioxide, a widely used pigment and whitener that is used in food, paints and cosmetics, among other things, is particularly relevant here. The production of titanium dioxide is energy-intensive and is increasingly the focus of regulatory and environmental discussions.

Seprify is therefore developing cellulose-based alternatives that offer similar functional properties but are made from renewable raw materials and can be better integrated into sustainable production cycles.

First products for cosmetics and food

The company's first commercial product lines include:

• SilvaLuma - a cellulose-based SPF booster for sun protection products in the cosmetics industry
• SilvaAlba - a food whitening ingredient that can be used as an alternative to titanium dioxide

Both products are designed to help manufacturers make their formulations more sustainable without having to completely change existing production processes.

Scaling up to industrial quantities

With the new financing, Seprify plans to significantly expand its production capacities. Production is to be carried out via established industrial production partners, which means that capacities of several hundred tons per year can be achieved in the short term. At the same time, the company is working on the planning of large-scale production facilities in order to be able to serve even larger markets in the long term.

Our priority now is implementation and scaling. We are focusing on ensuring consistent quality and reliable supply chains - exactly what large industrial customers expect.

Lukas Schertel, Cofounder & CEO Seprify

In the short term, Seprify is focusing on applications with high added value and moderate material requirements, such as

• Cosmetic products, especially sun protection
• Food and pet food products

In parallel, the company is expanding its technology for larger volume markets, including

• Coatings
• printing inks
• printed electronics

These applications require significantly higher quantities of material, but also offer great market potential for sustainable raw materials.

Strategic partner: IKEA

With the entry of the Inter IKEA Group, Seprify has gained an important strategic partner. IKEA invests specifically in materials that can replace climate-damaging or resource-intensive raw materials without destabilizing existing industrial production systems.

Robert Carleke, Innovation Ventures Manager at Inter IKEA Group, sees the cellulose platform as a promising material concept: "The company is specifically looking for solutions that can be realistically integrated into existing production and recycling structures. Seprify's technology has now reached a level of maturity that makes an industrial application appear credible.

Platform strategy for sustainable materials

In the long term, Seprify is positioning itself not only as a material supplier, but also as a platform for cellulose-based high-performance materials.

The combination of:

• Process know-how
• application expertise
• extensive patent base

should make it possible to address other materials and industries in the future. Seprify thus operates at the interface of deep tech, sustainable materials and industrial scaling.