35 million euro for sustainable biotech: International consortium invests into Abolis Biotechnologies

The consortium of venture capital funds consists of L’Oréal’s venture capital fund BOLD, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and Evonik Venture Capital as lead investors, as well as Clay Capital, ICOS Capital and Liberset.
Abolis Biotechnologies also signed a tri-party agreement with L’Oréal & Evonik to secure strategic projects from innovation to market.
Abolis Biotechnologies supports chemical companies and industries in their transition to a more sustainable production model, using micro-organisms to produce biobased equivalent or innovative products.

Abolis Biotechnologies, a company specializing in industrial solutions using microorganisms, today announced the closing of a €35 million financing round led by an international consortium of investors. This funding will fuel the company’s expansion into global markets and accelerate its research and development efforts to bring innovative biomanufacturing and microbiome solutions to the market.

Key players supporting this strategic investment include industry leaders such as BOLD (L’Oréal’s venture capital fund), Evonik Venture Capital as well as impact-focused funds including DeepTech & Climate Fonds (Germany), Clay Capital (Singapore), ICOS Capital (Netherlands), and the transatlantic investment firm Liberset.

This funding will enable Abolis to scale its biomanufacturing operations, accelerate business development, develop its own line of products and expand the activities of Microbiome Studio, Abolis’ business unit dedicated to deciphering and engineering microbial ecosystems.

“We are delighted to announce the successful closing of our fundraise with leading industrial partners and industry-focused investors. This strategic funding will fuel our continued growth trajectory, strengthening our position as a European leader in biomanufacturing and microbiome solutions,” declared Cyrille Pauthenier, CEO of Abolis Biotechnologies.

The investment is accompanied by the signing of a new strategic industrial partnership between Abolis, L’Oréal and Evonik to bring selected innovations to market, for healthcare, cosmetic and chemical sectors.

“We are delighted to strengthen L’Oréal’s collaboration with Abolis, which started in 2019, as a long-term partner of the Group at the forefront of sustainable biotechnology,” shared Samantha Etienne, CEO of BOLD, L’Oréal’s venture capital fund. “This investment highlights our belief in Abolis’ potential to create a more sustainable future across various industries, including beauty. We are looking forward to collaborating with the talented Abolis team to support their continued growth and success.”

“Biotechnology as a lever for sustainable transformation is a key component of Evonik’s growth strategy,” added Bernhard Mohr, Managing Director Evonik Venture Capital. “Abolis’ competencies in strain development and metabolic engineering ideally complement the expertise of Evonik in fermentation processes, downstream processing and scale-up for commercial production. The strategic collaboration of our Business Line Care Solutions with Abolis and L’Oréal alongside our investment will facilitate the access to a wide range of markets, including cosmetics, nutrition and healthcare.”

Beyond the industrial collaboration, this investment will enable Abolis to develop its own portfolio of innovative ingredients, which will be industrialized with partners.

“Our investment in Abolis marks an important milestone — it’s not only our first step into biotechnology but also our first venture outside of Germany. We’re proud to play an active role in bridging top-tier strategic and financial investors within this strong consortium, helping to accelerate the remarkable work that Cyrille and his team have built over the years,” acknowledged Tobias Faupel, Managing Director at DeepTech & Climate Fonds.

“From the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries to food and agriculture, global commitments have been made by the largest brands to transition to biobased alternatives across their ingredient portfolios. Having monitored the synthetic biology sector for many years, it’s clear the appetite and commercial buying power is there. But landing on the right solution, at the right price and with the ability to do so at scale has been out of reach for most. Abolis has taken a different path, embedding their platform as a trusted first port of call for motivated industry partners across sectors. They have demonstrated traction with key players, developing biobased ingredients that will pay dividends for human and planetary health. We’re excited to support Abolis’ growth in Europe, and help them make in-roads into Asia, where we have strong networks and demand is strong”, detailed Matthieu Vermersch, co-founder of Clay Capital.

“Abolis is already a major success story in European industrial biotech, with a strong track record of strategic and financial performance, and an impressive client base. Icos Capital is proud to be part of this growth financing round, which should propel Abolis to the next level. Icos Capital, along with its corporate partners such as Nouryon and Bühler, looks forward to supporting Abolis on their journey to becoming a global market leader in green ingredients, facilitating the sustainability transition of the industry”, said Peter van Gelderen, managing partner at Icos Capital.

“This is a strategic investment for LIBERSET. We are very proud to support Abolis’ team as it expands across the Atlantic. This partnership illustrates our commitment to sustainable innovation and a greener future”, concluded Damien Bourel, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Liberset.

Since its establishment in 2014, Abolis Biotechnologies previously raised €1.1 million and has since achieved significant growth through strategic partnerships with industry leaders. This new funding round enables Abolis Biotechnologies to enter a new phase of development by expanding its manufacturing platforms dedicated to serving its growing customer base. This expansion will involve the recruitment of talented professionals across all departments, in particular setting up an international Business Development team.

About Abolis Biotechnologies

Abolis is a French company delivering high-impact innovations in biotechnologies that supports industries in their transition to a more sustainable production model by building a better future in collaboration with Nature. Abolis provides tailor-made industrial solutions based on natural and modified micro-organisms.

About BOLD

BOLD, Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development, is the global corporate venture capital fund of L’Oréal. Since its creation in 2018, BOLD has explored the frontier of beauty via strategic minority investments in promising startups across the beauty value chain. Its investment portfolio includes emerging brands as well as innovative companies in the domains of technology and biotechnology.

About DeepTech & Climate Fonds

The DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) invests up to €30 million in high-growth deep-tech and climate-tech companies in Germany and Europe. As an anchor investor and partner of long-term-oriented European investors, DTCF supports companies with extended development cycles and substantial financial needs in implementing sustainable growth strategies and actively contributes to expanding the technology ecosystem. Funded by resources from the German Future Fund and the ERP Special Fund, DTCF plans to invest up to €1 billion over the coming years to strengthen the European technology ecosystem.

About Evonik

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of €15.3 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €1.66 billion in 2023. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable, and sustainable solutions for customers. About 32,000 employees work together for a common purpose: We want to improve life today and tomorrow.

About Clay Capital

Headquartered in Singapore, Clay Capital supports ambitious teams that are developing transformative solutions for a healthier, safer, and more regenerative agri-food system. Pioneers in making impactful investments in agrifood tech, Clay Capital is backed by significant institutional investors, including government-linked funds, supra-national entities, banks, insurance companies, and prominent families in the agrifood industry.

About ICOS Capital

Icos Capital, based in the Netherlands, manages Climate Tech Venture Capital funds focused on accelerating sustainability through early growth stage investments in Europe and North America. The firm collaborates with leading corporations to foster industry decarbonization and sustainable transitions in Food Systems, Chemicals & Materials, Industry Digitization, and Carbon Technology. The investment in Abolis is made from Icos’ fourth sustainability fund under management that was launched in January 2024.

About Liberset

With offices in the U.S. and Europe, LIBERSET is a transatlantic investment company focused on the growth of innovative companies fostering the industrial transition to sustainable manufacturing and decarbonization. Our investor base involves family-owned groups, family offices, experienced CEOs and entrepreneurs from sectors including farming, food, cosmetics, chemistry, energy, logistics and construction. LIBERSET is deeply committed to accelerating the transatlantic expansion of our portfolio companies while fostering global sustainable value creation, supported by our robust community of investors.