Inter IKEA Group backs cellulose materials developer Seprify in €13.4m funding round

Swiss biomaterials company Seprify has secured €13.4 million in Series A funding, with participation from Inter IKEA Group and several other investors, to scale production of its cellulose-based industrial materials.

Seprify develops high-performance ingredients derived from cellulose for use across a range of sectors, including cosmetics and personal care, food and pet food, and coatings. The company says its technology is designed to provide bio-based alternatives to materials with higher environmental footprints, such as titanium dioxide.

The funding round also included investment from Una Terra Early Growth Fund, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Cambridge Enterprise Ventures and Kickfund, alongside other investors focused on circular economy initiatives.

According to Seprify, its cellulose platform has progressed from pilot validation to procurement-ready industrial supply, enabling manufacturers to move from testing the material to establishing longer-term sourcing agreements. The technology has been validated at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7–9 through collaborations with industry partners.

The company reported that it is currently working with more than 100 organisations evaluating its materials, with activities ranging from early testing to initial commercial supply agreements.

Seprify plans to use the new funding to expand commercial production through established manufacturing partners, with a target of reaching output in the hundreds of tonnes per year. The investment will also support further engineering work aimed at developing larger-scale industrial production capacity.

This funding enables us to focus on execution and scale. Our immediate priority is delivering consistent quality and reliable supply, meeting the operational standards large industrial customers require. In the near term, that means supporting cosmetics and personal care, including suncare, as well as food and pet food. We are also scaling for higher-volume applications such as coatings, inks and printed electronics, reflecting the broader potential of our cellulose platform.

Lukas Schertel, Co-founder & CEO of Seprify.

Among Seprify’s current product grades are SilvaLuma, a cellulose-based ingredient designed to enhance SPF performance in cosmetics and personal care formulations, and SilvaAlba, a food-grade whitening solution developed as an alternative to titanium dioxide.

While the technology is currently being developed for applications such as cosmetics, food ingredients and industrial coatings, cellulose-based alternatives to titanium dioxide could also have potential relevance for packaging materials. Titanium dioxide is widely used in coatings, inks and plastics to provide opacity and whiteness.

The company’s cellulose platform draws inspiration from the light-reflecting structure of the Cyphochilus beetle and combines proprietary processing methods with application development across multiple industrial sectors.