Biotechnology company String Bio Pvt. Ltd on Monday announced the first closure of its Series B round after raising $20 million (around Rs 156 crore), led by Woodside Energy, with participation from Ankur Capital, Dare Ventures, Redstart and Zenfold Ventures, among other investors.
The fundraising close comes on the back of the Bengaluru-based String Bio striking a strategic development deal with Woodside Energy Technologies, a wholly-owned unit of Woodside Energy Group Ltd.
Founded by Vinod Kumar and Ezhil Subbian in 2013, String manufactures and provides feed and food ingredients produced through biotechnology-based solutions.
The startup uses its proprietary platform, Simp (String Integrated Methane Platform), to produce its feed products. The solution leverages naturally-produced methane to create value-added products that have applications in multiple industries like animal nutrition, agriculture, cosmetics and human nutrition.
String said in a statement that the new investment and partnership will further drive the company’s products market growth and boost its decarbonization impact.
The company joins a handful of startups in India that operate in the nascent biotechnology segment and have raised funds from venture capital companies in the recent past.
Last month, Immuneel Therapeutics Pvt Ltd, co-founded by Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, raised around $15 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Eight Roads Ventures, True North and F-Prime Capital along with participation from existing investors.
Shaw, in an interview with VCCircle, further flagged concerns around lean investments in the Indian biotech space. She said VC firms may not invest big time in the Indian biotech space as they do not see an exit path to capital markets in countries apart from the US
“The vision for String has been to leverage advances in biotechnology to enable better living at significantly reduced environmental footprint. With the Woodside collaboration and Series B raise, we are taking a giant step forward to bring such solutions to market - solutions that are better for people and the planet,” said Ezhil Subbian, co-founder and chief executive officer, String Bio.
“Our fundamental ethos is to enable supply and establish demand for our diverse product portfolio. The partnership with Woodside will be a defining milestone to enable carbon-friendly products in the global marketplace,” said Vinod Kumar, co-founder and managing director, String Bio.
Woodside Energy is an Australia-based oil and gas company. Its portfolio includes oil, gas and LNG facilities, including the Australian LNG project, the North West Shelf.
Woodside’s foray into India’s energy space marks its pact with Adani Enterprises Ltd in 2015. The company plans to invest $5 billion by 2030 mainly in hydrogen, in line with a global push for cleaner energy.
“Our investment in String Bio builds on our ability to potentially abate greenhouse gases through the conversion of carbon into useful products. We believe String Bio’s technology could eventually be used to recycle methane at Woodside facilities. It could also be deployed at third-party sites with available biomethane such as landfill facilities and farms,” said Meg O’Neill, CEO, Woodside Energy.