Singapore biotech firm RWDC bags $133m in series B money

RWDC Industries, a Singapore- and US-based startup that aims to solve the world’s single-use plastic crisis, said it has raised US$133 million in a two-stage series B round.

From left: RWDC CEO Daniel Carraway, Vickers Venture Partners chairman Finian Tan, and RWDC executive chairman Roland Wee / Photo credit: RWDC Industries

The new investment was co-led by Vickers Venture Partners, energy and resources firm Flint Hills Resources, Swiss pension fund CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop, and Interogo Holding-linked International SA. Existing investors Eversource Retirement Plan Master Trust and WI Harper Group also participated in the round, according to a statement.

Founded in 2015, RWDC develops sustainable and earth-friendly materials to use as substitutes for plastic in a wide range of everyday consumer goods such as straws, utensils, cups, plates, and lids. Particularly, it uses polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a fully biodegradable biopolymer material primarily produced from used cooking oil.

The startup said it will use the new funds to meet the growing demand for PHA. To do so, it plans to expand its production capacity by repurposing an idle factory in Athens, Georgia to be its new facility. It also looks to invest some of the new capital in research and development efforts.

RWDC said the investment comes at a time when demand for single-use plastic alternatives continues to rise due to regulatory demands from different governments worldwide.

“This investment will help us significantly increase our production capacity [and] meet the needs of brand owners who want to improve the lives of their customers by offering materials that have a positive effect on human health while improving environmental stewardship,” said RWDC co-founder and CEO Daniel Carraway.

The latest funding follows RWDC’s oversubscribed US$22 million series A3 round, which was led by Vickers Venture Partners in April last year. Prior to that, it had raised US$13 million in a series A2 round in October 2018.