OceanSafe has raised an undisclosed sum of seed capital as part of a financing round, which was led by Rütters GmbH, a German family investment office with roots in the textiles industry, and the Zurich-based exelixis capital, which focuses on venture capital for the circular economy.
As the Bern-based start-up writes in a press release, the additional funding will enable the company, which was founded in 2019, to further advance its technology development for recyclable materials, in particular for innovative synthetic textile fibers and yarns. In addition, OceanSafe intends to expand its international presence and provide recycling solutions.
CEO Manuel Schweizer had already announced at the fifth symposium of the NextGenerations association at the beginning of September that his company wanted to “move to the next level” by exploiting the emerging success of the financing round. It is developing a kit with 3,000 yarns, dyes and buttons that would allow conventional textiles companies to also manufacture products in line with the circular economy.
According to the investor Knut Rütters, CEO of the German textiles company Rütex, OceanSafe “has the team and expertise to perform at the highest level. OceanSafe will undoubtedly lead the textile industry’s sustainability efforts towards a circular future”. His company has also entered into a global distribution partnership focused on the “groundbreaking fibers and yarns” from OceanSafe.
The investor Dr. Günther Dobrauz from exelixis capital is also convinced: “OceanSafe has the potential to disrupt the entire textile industry”, he comments, adding that: “We strongly believe in the technology and in its vast potential to create positive environmental impact”.