Scindo raises £4 million to accelerate sustainable ingredients platform

Scindo, a UK-based startup developing a data-rich AI platform to discover and design next-generation enzymes, has raised £4 million in funding co-led by Kadmos Capital and Clay Capital, with participation from PINC, the venture arm of international food and beverage company Paulig, and existing investors Synbioven, AgFunder, SOSV, Farvatn Venture and Savantus Ventures. The investment will accelerate Scindo's mission to enable bio-based ingredients and sustainable chemistry across multiple high-value sectors.

Scindo's full-stack platform designs enzymes, which are naturally occurring catalytic proteins found in all living organisms, to transform renewable feedstocks into high-value, bio-based ingredients. By combining advanced AI models with proprietary, experimentally validated reaction data and rich metadata, the platform accelerates enzyme discovery and optimisation, enabling complex reactions to be done more efficiently and sustainably. This innovation supports consistent, scalable production of natural ingredients across food, flavourings, cosmetics and other speciality chemical applications.

The company's technology is already attracting strong industry interest, with established partnerships with leading speciality chemical manufacturers and pilot scaling initiatives underway to bring the first products to market. This momentum underscores the rising demand for bio-based solutions that can deliver both performance and sustainability at scale.

Founded in 2020, Scindo is entering its next phase of growth. With the new funding, the company will expand its enzyme discovery engine, scale wet-lab capabilities and strengthen its team. Recent hires include research scientists from top pharma companies and the University of Oxford, bolstering expertise in machine learning, enzyme engineering, process scaling and commercialisation.

Kadmos Capital, a UK-based pan-European fund focused on Deeptech, including AI and sustainability, views Scindo as an ideal portfolio fit. "Scindo represents exactly the type of company we seek to back  one that combines data-driven approaches with strong technical talent to address sustainability challenges," said Remy Kesrouani, Managing Partner at Kadmos Capital. "Their use of validated experimental data to inform enzyme engineering, backed by exceptional UK academic expertise, aligns well with our investment thesis."

Clay Capital, a pioneer in high-impact investment in agri-food technologies with presence in both Europe and Asia, sees strong alignment with Scindo's approach. "The speciality chemicals industry has long sought to move away from petrochemical-derived ingredients, but existing approaches have struggled with complex natural feedstocks," said Ali Morrow, Partner at Clay Capital. "Scindo's approach creates molecular craftsmen  enzymes designed for specific industrial jobs that offer cost-competitive natural alternatives and unlock previously inaccessible feedstocks, creating significant opportunities globally to end the industry's reliance on crude oil."

PINC, the venture arm of Paulig, recognises the industry's need to transition away from petroleum-based manufacturing. "Traditional manufacturing of ingredients like flavours and fragrances still relies heavily on petroleum derivatives. However, alongside consumer expectations and policy changes, companies like Paulig also recognise its responsibility to drive the shift towards clean and sustainable alternatives," said Rosemari Herrero, Senior Investment Manager at PINC.

"We're thrilled to have the backing of such a strong consortium of investors," said Gustaf Hemberg, Co-founder & CEO of Scindo. "This support enables us to accelerate the scaleup of our enzyme platform and start producing sustainable, high-value products that will help transform how industries approach ingredient sourcing and production."

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