Qorium lands additional funds from Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners, as the company sets out on an ambitious growth drive for sustainable leather, with the appointment of CEO Michael Newton
Qorium lands additional funds from Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners, as the company sets out on an ambitious growth drive for sustainable leather, with the appointment of CEO Michael Newton
Maastricht, 10 January 2024
Qorium, the world-leading cell-cultured leather company, today announces a series of significant milestones in its journey towards commercial scale. The firm has secured investment from breakthrough VC’s Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners, marking a significant vote of confidence in the future of sustainable, cell cultured leather production.
The company further confirms today that to steer the company through this next exciting phase of growth, Michael Newton, the former Nike senior executive, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
Newton joins a founding leadership team that boasts cell-cultured meat pioneer Mark Post as Chief Scientific Officer. Widely recognised as the leading voice in cellular agriculture, Post stunned the world by producing the first cell-cultured hamburger in 2013, following which he co-founded Mosa Meat to bring the product to market. Post joined forces with leather industry veteran Rutger Ploem and sustainability entrepreneur Stef Kranendijk to drive Qorium’s pioneering development of viable, quality lab grown sustainable leather.
Michael Newton said, “as soon as I met Mark, Rutger, Stef and the team at Qorium, I knew this was going to be the perfect fit. Qorium is founded on the conviction that when tradition and talent meet cutting-edge science, true category transformation can happen. My years at Nike were all about innovating product to unleash human potential; I’m thrilled to be taking this next logical step, where incredible science can deliver a truly sustainable future through high quality, excellent products that consumers covet.”
Guillaume Baxter, Principal at Sofinnova Partners,, said, “our mission is to identify ground-breaking innovations that have the capacity to enhance planetary health while also offering substantial returns. Qorium is an ideal match for our industrial biotechnology investment platform: a world-class leadership team, proven tech, and a real product with the potential to transform a whole industry for the good of the planet.”
Olga Goor, Investment Manager at Brightlands Venture Partners, added, “we’re thrilled to have Sofinnova Partners join us as key investors in Qorium. Qorium has made impressive progress over the last two years, and we are convinced that the addition of Michael alongside with both BVP’s and Sofinnova’s deep expertise, knowledge and relationships in this space will only further accelerate Qorium’s development.”