BacAlt Biosciences, a first-of-its-kind speciality biotech startup building high-performance, non-microplastic and sustainable alternatives to conventional ingredients, has raised INR 18 Crore ($2 million) in funding led by Avaana Capital, a venture capital fund focused on backing deep-tech innovation, with participation from Lubrizol InnoVentures, the co-innovation ventures platform of global speciality chemicals leader Lubrizol.
BacAlt develops bio-based polymers and speciality ingredients using lean, energy-efficient, and high-throughput fermentation that improves product performance in diverse applications while preventing microplastic pollution. By leveraging waste valorisation, circular feedstocks, and non-sterile fermentation, BacAlt’s innovative, low-carbon production process sets new performance and cost standards for sustainable materials, providing formulators in sectors like home care, personal care, agrochemicals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals with advanced textures, functionalities, and stability – at mass-market viable cost points without reliance on synthetics – improving both human and planetary health.
“BacAlt’s vision is to power India’s emergence as a global hub for circular, bio-based speciality ingredients,” said Shruti Kutmutia, Co-Founder of BacAlt. “The demand for high-performance, cost-competitive ingredients is real, and we are building for scale, taking India from an import-dependent market to an export-ready bio-manufacturing hub.”
“By combining proprietary fermentation platforms with circular use of agricultural waste, BacAlt is delivering ingredients that finally meet the performance and cost thresholds required for scale in FMCG,” said Shruti Srivastava, Investment Director at Avaana Capital. “These breakthroughs position the company at the forefront of sustainable materials for mainstream markets.”
Founded by a team of biotechnologists, BacAlt Biosciences is set to revolutionise speciality ingredients by pioneering a global shift to performance–first, circular and sustainable bio-based materials that outperform synthetics at scale. The funds raised will be used to scale their R&D processes, build pilot production facilities, strengthen hiring and develop go-to-market strategies for geographic expansion.
John Patrin, Managing Director of Lubrizol InnoVentures, said, “We are excited to collaborate with BacAlt Biosciences. This underscores our commitment to innovation and advancing solutions in biotechnology. With Lubrizol’s deep expertise and global network with BacAlt’s pioneering bio-based polymers and speciality ingredients, we aim to accelerate the development of new products that deliver enhanced value to customers and positively impact global markets.”
By combining developments in microbiology, industrial biomanufacturing and scalable fermentation, BacAlt Biosciences is creating reliable, high-performance alternatives to petrochemical-based ingredients, shaping the future of formulations worldwide.
About BacAlt Biosciences
BacAlt Biosciences is a next-generation biotech company pioneering sustainable alternatives to conventional speciality ingredients. By leveraging lean, energy-efficient, and high-throughput fermentation processes, BacAlt makes once-inaccessible biopolymers and bio-based actives commercially viable at scale. Its proprietary platform enables formulators in personal care, home care, agrochemicals, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and performance materials to replace petrochemical and synthetic inputs with high-performance, cost-effective, and sustainable ingredients. With a mission to power the global transition to circular, bio-based materials, BacAlt is positioning India as a hub for world-class bio-manufacturing and export-ready innovation.
About Avaana Capital
Founded in 2018, Avaana Capital is India’s largest thematic fund investing in frontier technology and innovation-led companies building globally competitive, future-ready solutions in Energy, Supply Chains, Food and Agriculture Systems, and Advanced Materials
To date, Avaana has made high-conviction investments in pioneering startups, including GreenGrahi (insect biotech platform), Eeki Foods (climate resilient precision agriculture), Turno (commercial EV financing and distribution), Dreamfly (next-gen battery platform for drones), Kazam ( interoperable EV charging), Eggoz (high nutrition eggs), Farmart (SaaS-B2B platform for food and agriculture), Amperehour (grid scale battery energy storage solutions) and Aerem (MSME rooftop solar)—each building cost-competitive, future-ready solutions from India for the world.
Avaana’s Team has previously invested in category leaders like Delhivery, Nykaa, Urban Company, ShadowFax, NinjaCart, Moveinsync, and Tonbo Imaging.
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