\Deeptech News/ Next gen plastic startup Xampla raises £6m Xampla wants to replace single-use plastics with an alternative made entirely from plant proteins By Freya Pratty 8 January 2021 Credit: Underwater pollution:- A discarded plastic carrier bag drifting in a tropical, blue water ocean Credit: Underwater pollution:- A discarded plastic carrier bag drifting in a tropical, blue water ocean \Deeptech Five ways to accelerate tech for good By Connor Bilboe 25 November 2020 \Deeptech News/ Next gen plastic startup Xampla raises £6m Xampla wants to replace single-use plastics with an alternative made entirely from plant proteins By Freya Pratty 8 January 2021 British startup Xampla, a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, has raised £6.2m in seed funding to expand its natural plant-protein alternative to plastic. The funding, led by Horizon Ventures — the private investment arm of Li Kashing, which has previously backed Zoom, Facebook, Spotify and DeepMind — follows a £2m investment round in April. Xampla wants to replace microplastics and single-use plastics with an alternative made entirely from plant proteins, meaning the material can decompose naturally. Advertisement This will be used to replace things like flexible packaging films and sachets, as well as the microplastics used in liquids and lotions. “Plastic pollution is a global problem which has a viable solution in Xampla’s plant-protein alternative,” said Amelia Armour, partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, who backed the startup alongside Horizon. There are several startups in Europe working on compostable alternatives to plastics, including Finnish company Sulapac, which makes biodegradable straws, and Vegware, from Scotland, which makes plant-based food packaging. The products made by Sulapac and Vegware are cardboard-like in structure, whereas Xampla’s plastic is clear, so designed to replace the flexible films used in things like food packaging. Xampla, which is chaired by Jeff Seabright, former chief sustainability officer at Unilever, is the first university spin-out in the UK to secure B Corp accreditation — a marker that a company abides by certain social and environmental criteria. Bart Swanson, from Horizon Ventures, said the firm believes Xampla can provide a replacement for plastic that could be rolled out globally. “We invest in highly innovative companies in Asia, Europe and the US with the potential to disrupt on a global scale,” Swanson said. “Xampla’s excellent core science and strong commercial advantages set it apart in the race for a replacement to plastic.” Freya Pratty covers news at Sifted. She tweets from @FPratty Advertisement Help Sifted get bigger and better (and get a sneak peak at our future plans). Please take our reader survey. Take the survey Terms of Use Related Articles Sifted readers respond: Should the EU put money directly into startups? By Michael Stothard Click here to read more Building the first sustainability unicorn By Mimi Billing Click here to read more Latvia is the most “startup friendly” country in the world By Freya Pratty Click here to read more M-Files raises $80m to expand information storage system By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Get the best of Sifted in your inbox By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Sign up to \Future Proof Sifted’s weekly \Corporate Innovation roundup email By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Most Read 1 \Fintech Starling Bank wants to buy a lender 2 \Startup Life Chief of staff: the ‘must-have hire’ for startup CEOs? 3 \Fintech The 10 fastest fintechs to reach billion dollar valuations 4 \Venture Capital Rich Europeans need to invest 10% of their money into tech and stop buying stupid stuff like hotels 5 \Public and Academic European Commission makes its first equity investments into startups Join the conversation Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments
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