France’s PILI raises $15.8 million for biobased indigo

In Toulouse, France, biotech and green chemistry company PILI has raised $15.8 million to accelerate commercialization and scale-up of its fermentation-based indigo. The funds will be used to set up a demonstration unit to complement an industrial pilot that began operations last year.

PILI says several million euros of preorders for its biobased dyes and pigments have already been contracted by customers in the textile, ink and paints sectors.

The funding was led by Bpifrance through the fund Ecotechnologies, with participation from new investors Famille C Participations and an undisclosed Italy-based privately owned company. Existing investors PSL Innovation Fund of Elaia Partners, SOSV, and the German business angel network Startupangels.de also participated.

“Decarbonizing the color industry is challenging as it relies on cheap fossil-based resources,” Jérémie Blache, CEO at PILI, says in a press statement. “With more than 30 million euros invested since its creation, PILI is building up the necessary capacity to revolutionize color production globally and do without oil as the main raw material.”