Copenhagen’s Octarine Bio Raises €5M To Grow Sustainable Colour Platform

The round was backed by existing investors and new partners, including The Footprint Firm, Edaphon, Unconventional Ventures, DSM-Firmenich Ventures, Oskare Capital, and several business angels, among them former Novozymes (now Novonesis) executives Per Falholt and Steen Riisgaard.

The funding brings Octarine Bio’s total Series A to €12.8 million, including earlier pre-Series A financing.

Commenting on the milestone, Nethaji Gallage, CEO and co-founder of Octarine Bio, says: “The completion of our Series A is a pivotal step for Octarine. It enables us to scale production of our first three flagship PurePalette colours, execute on commercial partnerships already in place, and expand product development of our safe and sustainable pigments into new industries. We deeply appreciate the unwavering support from our existing investors and are excited to welcome new partners who bring additional industry relevant capabilities.”

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In May 2025 London based Solena Materials raised €5.9 million in Seed funding to scale synthetic-biology-enabled textiles. In January 2026 Helsinki based Avenue Biosciences secured €4.8 million to expand its protein engineering and manufacturing platforms.

Together these rounds total around €10.7 million in disclosed funding across related sectors positioning Octarine Bio’s raise within a selective but ongoing flow of capital into European synthetic biology and sustainable materials innovation.

Anna Zimmermann, Senior Associate, Edaphon adds: “PurePalette has the potential to drastically reduce the environmental impact of textile dyeing, one of the most polluting steps in the textile value chain. By fitting into existing dyeing processes, the pigments can be widely adopted and drive meaningful change across the industry. We are excited to support the team as they move into this next phase.”

Octarine Bio founded in 2018 is a synthetic biology company that engineers microbial systems to produce bio-based pigments with a low environmental footprint. Using proprietary fermentation and biocatalysis technologies, the company creates high-performance alternatives to conventional fossil-based dyes that are compatible with existing textile manufacturing processes.

Their PurePalette platform is reportedly the only fully bio-based color solution capable of producing the entire color spectrum in a single production process. It delivers high color strength, stability, and performance while maintaining a proven low environmental impact.

PurePalette pigments are versatile, with unique properties suitable for a wide range of applications, including textiles food and beverages, cosmetics, and more.

Jonas Ahm-Lundgren, Partner, The Footprint Firm said: “We are thrilled to continue backing Octarine in bringing their groundbreaking technology to market.The team is world-class, and the potential for bio-based colour in the textile space and beyond is enormous.”orld-class, and the potential for bio-based colour in the textile space and beyond is enormous.”