The funds will primarily fuel the expansion of Galy’s research and development on its innovative cellular agriculture platform and its flagship product, “Galy Cotton,” which uses 99% less water and 97% less land than traditional cotton while emitting 77% less CO2, as it advances towards pre-industrial quality and scale.
The financing was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) with additional participation from new investors H&M Group and Inditex.
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“We are thrilled to have investors who recognise the crucial role that our climate adaptation technology will play in our daily lives,” said Luciano Bueno, CEO and Founder of Galy. “Climate change exposes the fragility of agricultural supply chains, and the recent rise in cocoa prices is a stark reminder of the new normal we face. Unfortunately, it’s not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ Soon, the world will face increased volatility in conventional agriculture as extreme weather conditions become more frequent. When that time comes, Galy will be ready, better equipping our economy to withstand these shocks.”
Founded in 2019 with a mission to find ethical and sustainable agricultural solutions, “Galy Cotton” is the company’s first product targeting conventional cotton practices. “Galy Cotton” fully replicates traditional cotton in quality, retaining its exact attributes because it originates from an actual plant, all while offering ESG benefits, customizable quality and a clear roadmap to reach cost parity. With this success, Galy is expanding its cellular agriculture platform beyond cotton to include other plant-cell products, aiming to address a global agricultural market valued at $1.7trn annually.
In July Inditex acquired a stake in Galy.
In addition to BEV, H&M Group, and Inditex, the oversubscribed investment round was joined by repeat investors including Material Impact, John Doerr’s family office (Eighty Eighty Group), Artesian, BRINC and Reaction Global. Additionally, there was participation from Indorama Ventures, Endeavor Scale-up Ventures, and Unreasonable, among others.
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By GlobalData“Agriculture is arguably the industry sector most impacted by climate change, while also being a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions itself,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “We need alternatives that can complement traditional agriculture without contributing to emissions or creating an overreliance on unstable supply chains. Galy’s cellular agriculture technology provides a solution to these challenges while enhancing resource efficiency and building climate resiliency for the sector.”
Ryan Panchadsaram, John Doerr’s technical advisor at Kleiner Perkins, added: “We urgently need solutions that drastically reduce emissions and are more sustainable, using less land and water. Galy’s breakthrough in growing agriculture like cotton and others in a bioreactor is a game-changer. Over the past two years, they have proven their technology works across multiple crops. With this new capital, they will focus on scaling up and improving the quality of their products.”
Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, added: “Galy has developed a promising technology to reduce the impact of cotton production on water, chemicals and soil use. Taking this equity interest marks a significant step in our commitment to advancing towards an innovative and more responsible textile industry. By investing in cutting-edge technologies for producing next-generation fibres, we are not only moving towards our goal of exclusively using materials with a lower environmental impact, but also actively shaping the transformation of the industry through strategic capital investments.”
Martin Ekenbark, H&M Group, Circular Innovation Lab Lead and Board Observer at Galy, added: “Galy’s lab grown cotton is on the verge of a breakthrough and could reduce reliance on virgin cotton if successful. We’ve been supporting the company’s progress since 2019 and are really excited to be part of this latest investment round. About 60% of the materials we source for our products is cotton and we have high ambitions that all our materials come from recycled or other sustainable sources by 2030, so partnering with Galy makes perfect sense.”
