Australian environmental technology startup Samsara Eco announced today that it has raised A$100 million (USD$65 million) in a new funding round. The company will use the funds to scale its enzymatic recycling capabilities, with new commercial facilities to be built in Southeast Asia in the next few years.

Launched in 2021, Samsara Eco provides solutions aimed at eliminating plastic waste. The company uses enzymatic technology to recycle plastic, using enzymes to turn complex plastics back into their original chemical building blocks, enabling their re-use to produce new virgin-grade plastics without relying on fossil fuels.

Samsara Eco launched a partnership with lululemon last year as its first textile partner. The two companies pioneered  a technology to extract nylon 6,6 from end-of-life fabrics. Nylon 6,6 is one of the most commonly used plastics in the textile industry for the production of clothing, sportswear and outerwear fabrics. It is durable and tough, which also make it difficult to recycle.

Luluemon participated in the new funding round, increasing its stake in Samsara Eco.

The planned new facilities are expected to recycle millions of tons of plastic waste, such as discarded textiles and packaging, to produce tens of thousands of tons of monomers – the molecular building blocks of plastics – to be turned into new products. The company plans to scale its technologies to “infinitely recycle” all forms of plastics, which can be used within existing cross-sector supply chains like automotive, electronics, and consumer packaged goods.

Samsara’s first proof of concept facility operates out of Mitchell, ACT (Australia). A new innovation campus is underway in Jerrabomberra, NSW (Australia).

The company will also use the funds to scale-up its global team of chemists, engineers and technicians, as well as increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.

Paul Riley, CEO and Founder of Samsara Eco said:

“Plastics have been an environmental disaster with almost every piece of the 9 billion tonnes ever made still on the planet. But almost all plastic is reusable and recyclable with the right technology. We’re on a mission to end plastic waste and with it, repair our climate. The ability to infinitely recycle plastic in an environmentally friendly way is a game changer for brands and our planet.”

The round was led by global investment company, Temasek and Australian deep tech investment fund, Main Sequence, as well as a cohort of new and existing backers including Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures) and DCVC.

Phil Morle, Partner at Main Sequence said:

“Samsara Eco demonstrates how science can deliver a real solution to huge problems — in this case, the accumulation of plastic waste and the continued need to produce new plastics from fossil fuels. Deep tech venture capital fuels this science with a rapid path to market, helping accelerate impactful change in the world.”