Rubi, a San Francisco, CA-based carbon-to-cellulose platform provider, received a $969,961 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The company intends to allocate the amount for the commercialization of its CO2-to-materials technology.
The NSF Phase II award builds on Rubi’s successful Phase I grant completion in 2023, which advanced multi-enzyme cascade design and enzyme stabilization for carbon-to-cellulose production. Since then, Rubi’s milestones include:
- An $8.7M seed funding round, co-led by H&M Group and Patagonia.
- Strategic pilot partnerships with global fashion brands H&M, Patagonia, Reformation, GANNI, and Nuuly.
- A series of pilot projects in collaboration with Walmart.
- Debuting the world’s first yarn made from CO2 through a fully enzymatic process with Ganni.
- Recognition from Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, TIME’s Top Greentech Companies, Business of Fashion 500, Vogue Business 100, and Forbes 30 Under 30 lists.
Founded in 2021 by two twin sisters, Neeka Mashouf and Dr. Leila Mashouf, Rubi is a manufacturing company developing technology that transforms waste carbon into essential materials. By replacing resource-intensive processes with its carbon-to-materials platform, the company is creating a manufacturing system that works in harmony with the planet. Inspired by how trees grow, the company uses biochemical processes empowered by enzymes to create planet-positive materials, like textiles, derived from CO2.
FinSMEs
06/12/2024