Scindo, a UK-based startup developing a data-rich AI platform to discover and design next-generation enzymes, has raised €4.5 million in funding to enable bio-based ingredients and sustainable chemistry across multiple high-value sectors.
The investment was 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.
“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 scale-up of our enzyme platform and start producing sustainable, high-value products that will help transform how industries approach ingredient sourcing and production.”
Scindo is a BioTech startup pioneering AI-driven enzyme discovery and engineering to create sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based chemicals. Founded in 2020, the company has developed a proprietary, data-rich platform that combines experimentally validated reaction datasets with advanced AI models to discover, design and optimise novel enzymes and biotransformations to break down challenging feedstocks and convert them directly into bio-active ingredients.
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.
This innovation supports consistent, scalable production of natural ingredients across food, flavourings, cosmetics and other specialty chemical applications.
“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.“
The company’s technology is already attracting strong industry interest, with established partnerships with leading specialty 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.
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.
“The specialty 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.”