BPI strengthens its partnership with Uluu to support the global scaling of innovative materials
Doubling down on sustainable materials made from seaweed
Burda Principal Investments (BPI) is proud to announce that we are leading the $16 million Series A funding round in Uluu, the Australian startup transforming seaweed into a natural alternative to plastic. The round was joined by a group of impact-focused co-investors including Main Sequence, Novel Investments, and Startmate.
For BPI, this funding follows our initial investment in 2023, reflecting our continued confidence in Uluu’s mission to reshape how materials are produced, moving away from fossil-based plastics toward scalable, sustainable alternatives built on scientific innovation.
Scaling a world-first plastic alternative
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Uluu has developed a process that combines seaweed with fermentation, similar to brewing beer, to produce natural polymers called PHAs. These materials perform like conventional plastics but are reusable, recyclable, home compostable, and marine biodegradable, breaking down naturally without releasing microplastics.
Unlike plastic made from fossil fuels, Uluu’s materials are strong, lightweight, waterproof, and non-toxic, while being climate positive at scale. At commercial production levels, Uluu’s process has the potential to sequester and avoid up to ~5kg CO₂ equivalent for every 1kg of material produced, compared with around 3kg emitted by fossil-based plastic today.
With the Series A funding, Uluu will build a 10-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Western Australia, scaling up from its current 100kg-per-year pilot facility and enabling the company to deliver commercial volumes to customers. To support this next phase, the company has recently expanded its team across commercial, production, and brand functions. Uluu continues to build partnerships with global consumer brands in industries such as skincare, fashion, and automotive.
Uluu also achieved B Corp certification this year and continues to advance its R&D and IP portfolio, developing innovations that increase seaweed processing efficiency and reduce both production costs and carbon impact, strengthening the pathway to industrial-scale manufacturing.
“We’re excited to take this next step towards scaling our technology and demonstrating that sustainable materials can perform at scale,” said Dr. Julia Reisser, Uluu co-founder and co-CEO. “Our goal is to replace fossil-based plastics with materials made from seaweed – not only to reduce pollution, but to reimagine how we produce the materials that shape our world.”
A strong partnership for sustainable growth
We believe Uluu represents a rare combination of scientific innovation, scalability, and environmental impact. The company has made strong technical progress since our first investment in 2023, demonstrating both the performance and sustainability of its materials at pilot scale. Since then, we have also connected Uluu with leading European corporations such as Audi, that are actively testing and listing its raw material for their production processes. The excellent feedback we’ve received from these partners further reinforces our conviction in Uluu’s technology and business potential. This Series A round enables Uluu to take the next critical step, moving toward industrial production and commercial delivery.
“At BPI, we invest in companies driving transformative innovation with the potential to become a global category leader,” said Christian Teichmann, CEO of Burda Principal Investments. “Having first invested in Uluu in 2023, we’re excited to further deepen our partnership as the company scales its pioneering technology. Uluu is redefining how materials can be produced more sustainably at industrial scale, and we look forward to supporting Julia, Michael, and their team on this next stage of their journey.”
Looking ahead
This funding marks a major milestone for Uluu as it scales its breakthrough technology from pilot to demonstration scale, paving the way for a future commercial-scale facility capable of producing thousands of tonnes annually to serve major global markets. BPI remains proud to back Uluu co-founders Dr. Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury and their team on their journey to replace fossil-based plastics with ocean-grown, climate-positive materials.
