International law firm Bird & Bird has advised PACT Earth on its Series A fundraising, raising approximately $20 million to scale production of its revolutionary biomaterials technology.
PACT Earth, a biomaterials innovator developing next-generation collagen-based materials for the textile and consumer goods industries, raised the funding in a round led by Forbion's BioEconomy Fund I, with participation from HV Capital, Hoxton Ventures and FPCI Polytechnique.
PACT Earth's flagship product, Oval, is a biomaterial designed for roll-to-roll manufacturing that offers a drop-in solution to replace plastic across fashion, interiors, footwear, and automotive applications. The material is engineered to meet the creative, commercial, and environmental demands of global brands whilst offering unique aesthetics and handfeel. The funding comes as brands face mounting pressure from new EU regulations mandating stricter sustainability practices and improved supply chain transparency.
The proceeds of the Series A financing will be used to advance large-scale production of PACT Earth's groundbreaking natural collagen-derived materials at the company's newly commissioned pilot line in Cambridge. This expansion will enable PACT Earth to deliver commercial volumes of Oval to global partners and expand its product portfolio.
Bird & Bird has advised PACT Earth since its first funding round in 2020.
The team on this Series A financing was led by James Baillieu (partner, Corporate). The Bird & Bird team also worked closely with Kenzo Onumonu, Founder of Crumb, who provide Fractional General Counsels to venture backed start-ups and scale-ups.
James Baillieu, Corporate Partner at Bird & Bird commented: "We were delighted to continue our support of PACT Earth on this significant Series A financing. Since advising them on their first funding round in 2020, we've watched the team combine scientific rigour with design excellence to create a biomaterial platform that offers a credible and commercially viable alternative to plastic-coated textiles. As global brands seek sustainable solutions to meet evolving regulatory requirements, PACT Earth's technology is well-positioned to meet rapidly growing demand. It's another great example of the excellent work carried out by our market leading venture capital and life sciences practices."
Dr. Yudí Ding, co-founder and CEO of PACT Earth, added: "I've always been obsessed with creating new materials that are not only functional and kind to the planet, but also inherently beautiful — materials that feel gentle on the skin, supple, and pleasing to touch. As a Cambridge-trained scientist, developing them in the lab isn't the hard part; the real challenge lies in scaling them to meet the exacting standards of the textile industry. From our very first investment, I realised that industrialisation and scalability are essential to making materials innovation truly succeed. Bird & Bird has been an invaluable partner throughout our journey, providing expert guidance from our first funding round in 2020 through to this Series A. Their support has been instrumental in helping us navigate the complexities of scaling our business whilst maintaining our focus on innovation."
