altM Secures $10.3 Mn to Expand Bio-Based Chemical Manufacturing

Existing investors Omnivore, Theia Ventures, Aureolis Ventures and Spectrum Impact also participated in the round, along with strategic angel investors.

altM Develops Materials From Agricultural Waste

Founded in 2022 by former Tesla executives Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, altM develops specialty chemicals and biomaterials using agricultural waste.

The company uses materials such as sugarcane bagasse and rice straw to produce alternatives to fossil-based industrial chemicals. Its products target industries including beauty and personal care, textiles, construction, packaging and consumer goods.

Funding Details

altM raised $10.3 million in its Series A round, led by Rainmatter and Mela Ventures. The latest funding comes nearly three years after the company secured $3.5 million in seed funding in 2023.

The investment will help the startup move from pilot-scale production towards commercial manufacturing and expand its product development capabilities.

How Will altM Use the Funding?

The company plans to establish a commercial manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 1,000 tonnes by 2028.

The funds will also support research and development, customer testing programmes and the development of new bio-based materials and chemicals. altM will further expand its sales and engineering teams to support business growth.

Manufacturing and Business Expansion

altM currently operates a 70-tonne-per-year pilot plant in Bengaluru's Electronic City. It has also developed an integrated research and pilot manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.

The startup has advanced six molecules to the demonstration stage, with three selected for pilot production. Its product pipeline includes a lignin-based SPF booster for suncare, a cellulose-based rheology modifier and bio-derived ferulic acid for cosmetics.

The company currently works with nearly 30 beauty and personal care customers across product development, testing and commercialisation.

Leadership Comments

"We are pleased to partner with altM as they move into commercial-scale production. Re-wiring foundational supply chains away from fossil-derived inputs is one of the most critical challenges facing modern manufacturing today," said Abhinav Negi, Lead - Climate & DeepTech, Rainmatter by zerodha.

"Solving DeepTech problems involves research and understanding interplay of multiple areas. altM is tackling one of the hardest problems in industrial chemistry which is creating new age materials that can match the performance of fossil-derived inputs while fundamentally changing where their carbon comes from," said Krishnakumar N, Managing Partner, Mela Ventures.

"Industrial manufacturing has relied on fossil carbon for more than a century. We are building a new source of industrial carbon from agricultural residue," said Apoorv Garg, Co-founder and CEO of altM. "Our focus is on developing materials and manufacturing processes that allow customers to adopt these materials at the performance, cost, quality, and scale required for industrial applications."

"We've believed in altM from early on, and what makes us double down on our confidence is the team's ability to turn ambitious science into something real and commercially scalable. Going from the lab to reliable manufacturing and, ultimately, customers is a difficult journey. altM has shown a rare ability to make that transition," said Abhilash Sethi, Partner at Omnivore.

About altM

Founded in 2022 by Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, altM is a Bengaluru-based cleantech company focused on developing specialty chemicals and biomaterials from agricultural residues. Its technology converts biomass into useful materials for industrial applications, helping businesses explore alternatives to fossil-based raw materials.

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