Mitsui Chemicals Invests in Materia Bioworks

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Satoshi Ichimura; hereinafter “Mitsui Chemicals”) announced today that it has made a minority investment in Materia Bioworks Inc. (Headquarters: Ontario, Canada; CEO: Hasitha de Alwis; hereinafter “Materia Bioworks”) through 321Catalyst™, its corporate venture capital (CVC) fund.

About Materia Bioworks

Materia Bioworks is a startup utilizing computational chemistry and AI to develop a platform (“MAPS”) that can efficiently design and formulate sustainable materials, such as bioplastics. By leveraging computational chemistry and AI, the company streamlines product development using bioplastics, a process that traditionally required significant time and cost, thereby reducing development time and costs while also driving down the cost of bioplastics themselves.

Company Name	Materia Bioworks Inc.
HQ	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CEO	Hasitha de Alwis
Establishment	November 2023
Description	Development of an AI-powered Sustainable Materials and Product Design Platform
URL	https://www.materiabioworks.com/

Materia Bioworks’ AI-powered platform, MAPS (Material Application Prediction System) has the following functions:

Material Design	Formulates and designs bioplastics and other sustainable materials to meet target performance specifications such as thermal properties, mechanical properties, permeability, physical properties, etc., with AI suggesting optimal formulations and material designs.
Manufacturing Optimization	Conducts simulations of customer’s production lines using digital twins^※ and provides advice on optimal manufacturing conditions to the customer, such as processing conditions.
Marketplace	Connects customers with verified bioplastic suppliers through a proprietary marketplace network.
Compliance Support	Supports companies in obtaining approvals for bioplastics in compliance with regulations in various countries by leveraging a proprietary database of biomaterials and biodegradable materials.

^※Digital twin：Technology refers to the recreation of the state of real-world equipment, products, and processes in a digital environment, enabling simulation and analysis to improve efficiency and optimize operations.

Purpose of the Investment

By utilizing their biomass materials in Materia Bioworks’ bioplastic design services, Mitsui Chemicals aims to expand its provision of bioplastic materials offering to customers globally. Furthermore, Mitsui Chemicals will collaborate with Materia Bioworks to meet the performance and quality requirements of customers through the possible joint development of new bioplastic materials.