Seaweed Startup Zerocircle Raises $2.3 mn in its Seed Funding Round

Pune-based Zerocircle has raised Rs. 20 crores (~US$ 2.3 mn) in its seed funding round from Rainmatter Capital, 1Crowd, and environmental advocate Trudie Style. The round also saw participation from Trousdale Sarosphere LLC, VC Grid, 7th Gen Ventures, Spectrum Impact, and LNB Group.

Zerocircle is a biotech company that makes seaweed-based alternatives for fossil-fuel-based plastics, which can be used for packaging materials like coated paperboards, food boxes, fried food containers, and food trays.

The firm plans to use the investment amount to scale production and expand into global markets, particularly in markets like the EU and the Middle East.

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental nightmares in modern times, causing significant problems for air, water, and land and impacting the health of humans and biodiversity.

Founded by Neha Jain, Zerocircle works to eliminate plastic waste through biodegradable packaging materials that can dissolve in the soil or ocean after use. After working in the technology sector for over a decade, Neha launched Zerocircle in July 2020.

Scientific discoveries have created a high interest in seaweed and its immense potential. Seaweed is extremely important for our environment and has a huge relevance in fighting climate change. 

When Change Started spoke with Neha Jain, she alluded that the Zerocircle sources its seaweed from farming communities in the Indian coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

She also mentioned the rationale for choosing seaweed instead of any other agricultural resource, “Agriculture products are great because they are bio-based, but they require a lot of resources. Corn and Soy are exploitative in the way they are commercially produced. The question is do you want to use food to make plastic alternatives, as that will bring other problems of sustainability and food security?”

In 2022, Zerocircle was the ‘second-placed winner’ in the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, a global competition encouraging biologically degradable alternatives to single-use plastic bags.

Zerocircle was on the annual list of Change Started 11 Green Startups of the Year 2022.