Biotech startup Zerocircle raises Rs 20 crore in round led by Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter

Biotech startup Zerocircle which creates seaweed-based alternatives to petro-plastics, has raised Rs 20 crore in a funding round led by Zerodha cofounder Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter. The round also saw participation from early stage venture capital firms 1Crowd, VC Grid, 7th Gen Ventures, and environmental advocate Trudie Styler, among others.

The funds will be used for scaling manufacturing, optimising the supply chain, and expanding the team.

“We are in the midst of a lot of eco-friendly packaging options. The terminology is thrown around a lot, and it gets really chaotic. So, to put it simply, if our product ends up in a mismanaged environment—whether it’s a landfill, a marine or aquatic body, or even your own body—it breaks down naturally without any special requirements,” founder and managing director Neha Jain told ET.

Founded in 2020, the Pune-based startup creates seaweed-based packaging designed to replace harmful petrochemical-based materials. Its product range includes coated packaging for hamburger boxes, fried food containers, bakery packaging, and food trays.

“We already have contracts in place. We’re looking to produce around four million single-use plastic items by the end of the year,” she said.

According to Jain, the total production capacity is expected to exceed 3,000 tonnes annually by 2028 across product categories, such as coated paperboards, food boxes and advanced coatings. The startup, which is currently operating in Europe, is looking to expand its presence in markets such as the GCC.

“The reason we’re working in Europe is that sustainability regulations, while in place in many countries, are more stringent there. Therefore, we will be targeting two regions in a very focused way: Europe and the GCC, as these regions are actively looking to replace harmful materials and have policies and penalties in place. By the end of next year, we aim to be fully operational in India and maintain inventory here,” Jain added.

Commenting on the investment, Rainmatter’s Kamath said, “Plastic is a well-known source of pollution on land and in water. We can visibly see plastic pollution around us, and now we also see microplastics in our food and water. This is why, when we met the Zerocircle team back in 2021, we did not take much time to decide on backing them in their pursuit of developing biodegradable alternatives for plastics.”