After forging deals with Lululemon and LSKD for its recycled fabrics, Samsara Eco is looking to develop a means of extracting and reusing rare earth metals.
Samsara Eco has made a name for itself by securing deals to supply Lululemon and The Lycra Company with recycled fabrics – but now it wants to get into the hard stuff.
The startup has begun fundraising for a $100 million Series B to develop an ability to recover rare earth metals from batteries, magnets and resource tailings, futuristic tech that would secure supply chains for vital industries including defence.
“Rare earth metals is a chance to solve one of the greatest geopolitical challenges of our time, which is circularity around these critical minerals and rare earths,” Samsara Eco founder and CEO Paul Riley said.
Samsara Eco’s AI platform develops enzymes that can break down hard-to-recycle materials into their core chemical building blocks, which can then be used to create new products. It first designed enzymes that could recycle PET, used for both plastic and polyester, before developing ones for nylon 6 and nylon 6,6. The company is aiming to open a plant in 2028 that, utilising this technology, will produce 20,000 tonnes of recycled materials to the likes of Lululemon, The Lycra Company and LSKD.
Riley spoke with Forbes Australia following a trip through Europe, Singapore and Japan in which he spoke to prospective and existing investors. Startups typically raise more and more cash each funding round, but Riley said he’s targeting the same $100 million Samsara Eco raised during its Series A extension thanks to the efficiencies inherent in running an AI business.
“AI allows us to design these biological assets faster with every loop,” Riley said. “The AI is allowing you to shorten the timeframe to get to market with each process. It’s a self-reinforcing loop of information around how the proteins are used, designing the right protein for the right job and then putting that into a process and an asset that delivers us the advantage.”
Existing backers include Main Sequence, Lululemon, Japan’s Hitachi Ventures, Singapore’s Temasek as well as US investors Titanium Ventures and DCVC.
The company’s pitch is not just around protecting the environment – it’s estimated that less than 10 per cent of newly produced plastics are made from recycled materials – but also bolstering supply chains. The ability to recycle polyester and nylon means the fashion industry will use less petrochemicals and will be insulated against oil supply shocks. Some textile producers reported their input costs rising 30 per cent following the Strait of Hormuz’s closure.
Supply chain strength is an especially heavy consideration for rare earth minerals, with the International Energy Agency estimating China accounts for 60 per cent of mining output for rare earth metals required for industrial magnets. China has halted exports of critical metals to Japan over a diplomatic dispute regarding Taiwan, and to the US amid the two economic superpowers’ escalating trade war.
“It will have applications in Europe and the US from a circularity perspective with magnets and batteries,” Riley said, “and in Australia it will have applications with mining businesses where we can increase yields through the capture of rare earth metals out of tailings.”
Samsara Eco is aiming to have a pilot facility for critical minerals recycling up and running within its manufacturing hub in South Jerrabomberra, near Canberra, in the first half of next year.
“The thesis around AI and its ability to deliver these applications… across a wide range of verticals has been incredibly exciting for us,” Riley said of Samsara Eco’s expansion outside of materials recycling. “It’s also homegrown AI. This is AI that’s owned and built in Australia that can solve some of these really challenging problems. We’re not tenants, we own this, and we can exploit this, and we can build enormous value out of this AI.”
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