Fremantle Seaweed, a startup tackling cattle methane emissions using seaweed, has raised $2.176 million in a Seed funding round at an $11 million pre-money valuation. This comes just a week after Sea Forest, a Tasmanian startup, listed on the ASX and raised $20.5 million. Sea Forest’s share price has jumped more than 72% since listing.
Like Sea Forest, Fremantle Seaweed focuses on a native red seaweed called asparagopsis, which can reduce methane emissions from livestock—a source of about 10% of Australia’s total emissions. Another initiative, CSIRO-backed FutureFeed, is also working on similar solutions and has raised $13 million from major agriculture players.
Fremantle Seaweed has spent the last four years building the technology and infrastructure to grow and process asparagopsis at scale. This includes longline ocean cultivation systems, modular containerised hatcheries, and a purpose-built harvesting vessel.
The Seed round was funded by 676 investors through an OnMarket crowdfunding campaign that closed in October. The startup plans to raise another $4.32 million from sophisticated investors, bringing the total Seed round to $6.5 million.
The funds will support a 3,000-hectare aquaculture lease called the North-West Hub in Cockburn Sound, south of Fremantle, and a 13-month trial with 60 cattle using 1,500 kg of dried asparagopsis at Pardoo Wagyu’s feedlot in the Pilbara, 1,500 km north.
Fremantle Seaweed was co-founded by Chris De Cuyper and Mick Holland in 2020 and received a $4 million grant from the WA Government’s Investment Attraction Fund. This is the company’s second crowdfunding round in 20 months, following a $1.26 million raise via Birchal in March 2024. Holland left the company in October 2024.
In early 2025, the startup joined the KPMG High Growth Ventures program to prepare for its Seed round and was recently selected for the Founders Factory WA Nature Tech Accelerator, receiving an additional $50,000 in funding.
De Cuyper, Fremantle Seaweed’s managing director, said the project has the potential to abate nearly one million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually.
“That’s the kind of real-world impact that investors, producers, and policymakers are looking for,” he said.
“What excites me most is the sense of shared purpose. Farmers want practical, natural tools that make sense on-farm, and our job is to deliver those – technology that fits seamlessly into existing systems and creates value across the board.”
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