AI materials discovery: which startups hold fashion brand contracts

Which startups use AI to design new fibres?

Solena Materials employs AI-designed protein fibres to replace petroleum-derived synthetics. London-based biotech spinout Solena Materials secured 6.7 million dollars in seed funding in May 2025 led by Sir David Harding, with participation from SynBioVen and Insempra. The startup had previously secured a 4.1 million dollar pre-seed round in 2022, bringing total funding to 10.8 million dollars. Solena spun out of Imperial College London in 2022 and was co-founded by Dr James MacDonald, Professor Paul Freemont and Professor Milo Shaffer.

Solena Materials uses artificial intelligence to create bespoke proteins, developing fibres that offer toughness, softness and biodegradability. The company will use capital to move to a larger facility near Imperial's campus to scale up production and begin partnerships with major fashion brands. The aim is to launch its first products within three years.

Solena Materials raised a 6.7 million dollar seed round in May 2025 and uses AI-driven protein sequence design to engineer new biodegradable fibres produced by microbes. The Fashion for Good initiative highlights similar approaches: Osium AI applies AI to compress the traditionally slow, trial-and-error process of materials and chemicals research by predicting material properties in seconds, designing optimal experiment routes and accelerating scale-up.

Who holds commercial contracts with fashion brands?

Evolved By Nature raised 120 million dollars in Series C financing in a round led by Teachers' Venture Growth and Senator Investment Group, with participation from existing investors including Chanel, and in the last year its biodegradable activated silk technology for sustainable leather and textile finishes has been adopted by fashion brands including Anya Hindmarch, nylon mills such as Alpine Creations and Apex Holdings, and leather tanneries including Richard Hoffmans and Curtidos Bengala. In 2019, Chanel acquired a minority stake in the company as part of its strategy of developing sustainable materials.

Modern Synthesis, a London-based startup focused on biomaterials for fashion, raised 5.5 million dollars in a funding round led by Extantia Capital in February 2025, with support from Artesian and Collaborative Fund. Modern Synthesis is collaborating with Danish fashion brand Ganni to launch the Bou Bag, which features its biomaterials. The bag should be commercially available in 2025.

Spiber, a pioneer in man-made protein fibre produced using a precision fermentation process, launched a collaboration with JNBY Group, with the group's two signature brands JNBY and CROQUIS releasing items made with Brewed Protein fibre, marking the first adoption of the material by a Chinese fashion brand. Spiber announced partnerships with renowned Italian mills Marzotto, RD Gruppo Florence and Filatura Papi Fabio, and its collaborations highlight the fibre's potential in high-end, sustainable luxury materials.

How much funding reached materials startups in 2025?

CB Insights data shows that AI fashion startups raised 2.8 billion dollars in 2025, up from 1.2 billion dollars in 2023, a 133 per cent increase in just two years, and the average Series B for AI fashion startups reached 45 million dollars in 2025, compared to 18 million dollars in 2022. Investment in textile innovation startups is expected to exceed 5 billion dollars by 2026.

Specialist materials startups also secured growth capital. Werewool bagged 3.7 million dollars in seed funding to develop biodegradable fibres with protein-based colour and performance properties. The technology is co-patented between the Fashion Institute of Technology and Columbia University. Spiber secured about 44 million dollars in investment in 2018 for a new production facility in Thailand with capacity nearly 100 times greater than Spiber's existing pilot plant in Japan.

The Bezos Earth Fund announced 34 million dollars in April 2026 to advance breakthrough materials for the fashion and textile industry. According to Crunchbase data, funding to startups at the intersection of artificial intelligence and apparel has held steady at around 100 million dollars annually since 2022.

What properties do AI-designed fibres offer?

Spiber creates next-generation bio-based materials like Brewed Protein, made through fermentation, a fibre that mimics the properties of spider silk and offers strength, flexibility and sustainability. Werewool experiments with designer proteins, made by bacteria and mixed with biopolymers, to churn out eco-friendly fibres. Founded in 2018, Werewool is currently experimenting with colourful proteins often used as markers to make cells glow, and to turn these biomedical workhorses into fibre they tweak the DNA sequences that encode these proteins to make the resulting protein structures amenable to binding with other molecules.

Modern Synthesis harnesses the power of bacterial fermentation to produce a plastic-, petrochemical- and animal-free biotextile, using bacteria commonly found in Kombucha that digest sugars sourced from agricultural waste into nanocellulose fibres that create a biofilm that Modern Synthesis manipulates into a fashion-ready material. Modern Synthesis uses microbes to grow materials, their proprietary microbial weaving technology creates biofabrics by combining microbes with plant-based feedstocks, offering a biodegradable, high-performance alternative to synthetic textiles, and the startup's innovation involves harnessing microbial cellulose, a strong and lightweight material that can replace traditional fibres.

Which markets do protein fibre startups target?

Solena targets the apparel and fashion industry, specifically premium and accessible luxury brands, by offering a high-performance, biodegradable alternative to conventional materials that contribute to microplastic pollution and carbon emissions. The business model involves developing proprietary fibres and partnering with fashion brands to integrate them into their products, with a first product launch anticipated within three years of its 2025 funding round.

Evolved By Nature's total funding reached 211 million dollars. The company produced 150 metric tons of Activated Silk in 2022, a 500 per cent increase over 2021. Full operation of the company's manufacturing plant would enable production of 900 metric tons of Activated Silk per year in 2024.

Modern Synthesis is currently working with multiple premium and luxury brands and has 35 major brands in its pipeline. Founded in 2007, Spiber has solidified partnerships with companies across sectors, like The North Face Japan, Bridgestone and Lexus to supply protein-based biomaterials. In 2026, the major challenge for deep tech players is scaling up: transforming laboratory breakthroughs into industrial production capacities to meet brand demand.

What role do patents play in materials innovation?

Werewool uses protein structure to embed performance attributes directly into fibres, and the technology is co-patented between the Fashion Institute of Technology and Columbia University. Solena Materials will use its new funding to expand its manufacturing base, help form commercial partnerships with leading fashion brands and strengthen its intellectual property portfolio.

Evolved By Nature is using Activated Silk to replace unsafe chemicals at industrial scale, and applied to textiles the key ingredient serves as a clean and sustainable alternative that enables brands to make their products safer to wash, wear and recycle. Its Activated Silk technology, consisting of natural silk in liquid form, provides a non-toxic alternative to chemicals in products.

Several startups leverage computational design. Solena uses world-leading computational design, machine learning and automation to accelerate the development of bespoke materials targeted at multiple sectors, from fashion apparel to medical textiles. The convergence of material science and AI continues to reshape discovery timelines and routes to market for protein-based textiles across luxury, sportswear and accessible fashion segments.

Researched and drafted with AI support, reviewed and released by the editorial team.

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