Lab-grown leather producer Faircraft secures 15.8 million dollar funding

Faircraft, a Paris-based lab-grown leather pioneer, has closed a 15.8 million dollar fundraising round, with the secured funds to go towards a team expansion and efforts to scale operations.

The round was backed by a number of international investment funds, including the UK’s Entrepreneur First, US-based Kindred Ventures and Heirloom and French firms Cap Horn, BPI and Alliance for Impact.

Currently consisting of a 20-member team, Faircraft said it wants to expand its employee network through the recruitment of more engineers and biologists, growing its base to meet the increased demand for its product.

The start-up, founded in 2021 by Haïkel Balti, utilises cellular biology to create its lab-grown leather, applying animal skin cells that it says replicate the structure and composition of traditional leather through agriculture processes.

The result is a “genuine leather” that is made in a lab and intended to cater to the luxury market, which Faircraft noted is “embracing innovation to harmonise premium materials with environment value”. As such, the company is already working with a number of luxury brands which incorporate its leather into their products.

In a release, Balti, who also serves as the chief executive to Faircraft, said: “Lab-grown leather represents a major evolution that goes far beyond the fashion industry, and uses cutting-edge technologies to honour ethical considerations.

“It enables the creation of unique pieces with minimal environmental impact, while offering new possibilities to leather artisans and designers. This technological breakthrough is a tribute to the magic of life.”