cellulose
(2)
Simplifyber
Simplifyber is a North Carolina biomaterials company reinventing how soft goods are made. Its proprietary natural-fiber liquid, Fybron, is injected into 3D molds to form fabric directly, skipping the spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing steps of conventional textile production. Founded in 2021 by fashion veteran Maria Intscher-Owrang and Phil Cohen, the company targets fashion, footwear, bags, automotive and aviation interiors, and consumer packaging with a cellulose-based, largely biodegradable alternative to fossil-derived materials. It closed a $12M Series A led by Suzano Ventures in April 2025.
Foray Bioscience
Foray Bioscience is a Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech company growing plants and plant products from single cells. Founded in 2022 by MIT PhD Ashley Beckwith, Foray pairs plant cell culture with AI to make lab-grown plant material predictable across species - unlocking harvest-free wood and materials, rapidly scalable seed supplies, faster crop improvement, and even conservation and de-extinction work. Its Pando software acts like a 'Google Maps for plant growth,' helping researchers navigate the dozens of variables that govern how a plant cell grows.