PARIS — Next-Gen biomaterial company Uncaged Innovations has raised $5.6 million seed funding to commercialize its bio-based, plastic-free leather made from grains.

The round was led by Green Circle Foodtech Ventures and Fall Line Capital, with participation from Ponderosa Ventures, Golden Seeds and Jaguar Land Rover’s investment arm InMotion Ventures. The latter was an existing investor in the company as part of a $2 million pre-seed round last June.

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That funding round went to scaling the company’s tech to produce millions of meters per year of its roll-to-roll material.

The new round will boost the company’s commercial launch as it scales up production and builds out its manufacturing team.

The four-year-old, New York-based company was cofounded in 2020 by chief executive officer Stephanie Downs and Dr. Xiaokun Wang with a focus on creating leather alternatives using plant collagen for consumer and automotive goods.

The company’s technology fuses plant collagen with other bio-based elements to create a fibral network that mimics the texture and performance of animal leather. The material is fully biobased and free of plastic.

“The tide has turned aggressively toward materials that are sustainable, and we plan to capture that momentum. This funding round brings Uncaged another step closer to achieving our ultimate goal of disrupting every industry that relies on leather,” Downs said.

With the material, they are currently developing prototypes for Jaguar Land Rover, and have been in talks with several unnamed luxury brands.

“Green Circle and Fall Line not only share our mission but also bring tremendous operational expertise,” added Downs.

Fall Line Capital is an early-stage and strategic investor in science, food and agriculture tech companies, and Green Circle Foodtech Ventures is an early-stage investor in climate tech companies in food production and distribution.

Green Circle Capital founder and managing directory Stu Strumwasser said the Uncaged Innovations technology is a “significant breakthrough in an industry that has long awaited a breakout innovation.”

Uncaged Innovations’ grain-based leather will have applications across product categories. “The opportunity is enormous, and we believe that their ability to provide a high-quality material that is scaled and price competitive is a game changer,” he said.