Biotech startup Smobya secures funding and relocates to Limburg

Smobya, a Hungarian biotech startup developing a sustainable alternative to plastic and animal leather, has secured investment from Limburg development agency (LIOF) and from women-led venture capital firms Joanna Invests and Earthstar. The funding, the sum of which hasn't been disclosed, will enable the startup to build a demonstration plant and scale its innovative technology, which transforms food waste into high-performance biofabricated materials.

Founded by Lídia Kuti and Almos Kuti, Smobya has pioneered NanoTwine™, a technology that transforms food waste into biofabricated circular materials. Their process involves upcycling food waste as feedstock for microbes, growing the cells through precision fermentation, converting the waste into nanocellulose sheets, and then processing these sheets for various applications.

The resulting bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) can be engineered during and after growth, tailored to different use cases across industries such as fashion, audio membranes, interior design, filtration systems, and even medical applications, such as bone scaffolds. According to Smobya, NanoTwine™ offers a stronger alternative to leather and a better alternative to plastic, positioning it as a versatile platform to displace animal-based and plastic materials.

Lídia Kuti, co-founder and CEO of Smobya, stated: “Our vision is to manufacture high-performance materials with biology. Fermentation gives us exceptional foods and drinks, but we believe it is also how we will produce many of our materials. Smobya is building the technology to make this happen.”

Growth and relocation

The investment was disclosed on International Women's Day, showing how female investors can advance technology developments. The fundraiser will help Sombya expand and construct a demo plant. Together with Joanna Invests and Earthstar, LIOF set up an investment structure to enable the next step and accelerate Smobya's growth.

“There was a real chicken-egg situation. The demo plant was needed to produce larger volumes and to further scale with leading international brands in the fashion and textile sector, but this first required financing. We took the lead by forming a consortium.”

As part of this strategic move, Smobya is relocating its entire team from Budapest to the Brightlands Greenport Campus in Venlo, Netherlands. Kuti emphasized that Limburg is a real biotech hub in the EU region, right in the middle of leading European institutes in biotech, chemistry, and materials, and that the ecosystem is crucial for them.

Investors' confidence

The investors expressed strong confidence in Smobya's potential. “After sitting with Lidia and hearing her talk about materials, our conviction in Smobya deepened. She is challenging the industry's reliance on plastics and animal hides and has built a platform that transforms food waste into high-performance, microbial nanocellulose. That strange mix of bold curiosity and commercial drive is exactly the kind of founder Earthstar backs,” said Maria Tapia, founding partner of Earthstar.

“Smobya is exactly what Joanna Invests exists for: a mission-driven founding team building technology that genetically matters, led by a founder who combines scientific depth with real commercial conviction. We're proud to back Smobya alongside such strong co-investors and to welcome them into the Dutch ecosystem,” concluded Claire Tange, Founder of Joanna Invests.