What if you could take some of the excess carbon dioxide in the air and turn it into clothes?
That's what Rubi Laboratories Inc. is working on. The Sausalito startup has found a way to convert carbon emissions into naturally biodegradable textiles. Rubi's process involves taking carbon emitted by manufacturing plants and converting it into viscose, which is also known as rayon and is one of the world's most popular textiles.
"We're at a pivotal moment in time where mature modern technologies and advances in biotech can meet to build a world where human prosperity and economic growth are planet-positive," Neeka Mashouf, Rubi's CEO, said in a news release. "With increased consumer and government pressure to solve fashion's reliance on carbon-heavy textiles, innovation in textiles can have a dramatic impact on reducing fashion's carbon emissions."
The early-stage company has some new funds to fuel development and commercialization of its technology, raising $4.5 million in a seed round led by Talis Capital and Necessary Ventures late last week. James Reinhart, the CEO and founder of online retailer thredUP Inc., also invested. Additionally, the funding amount included a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Twin sister founders Leila and Neeka Mashouf plan to send their first textile samples to customers next month.
Here's more on Rubi's new round and other seed funding news from this past week. And Happy Twosday (Tuesday, 2/22/22) from Bay Area Inno!
KSOC Labs Inc. (dba Kubernetes Security Operations Center), San Francisco, $6 million: .406 Ventures led the round for this provider of a security service for cloud-based apps. Vertex Ventures US and Gula Tech Adventures also participated.
Rubi Laboratories Inc., Sausalito, $4.5 million: Talis Capital and Necessary Ventures led the round for this developer of naturally biodegradable textiles. Climactic, Collaborative Fund, Incite Ventures and Climate Capital also invested.
Bardeen Inc., San Francisco, $3.5 million: 468 Capital and FirstMark Capital invested in this provider of application development software.
