MAS Holdings joins heavyweight investors in Syntetica’s $30 million funding round
EconomyNext: Syntetica, a French deeptech company advancing technology to recycle textile waste, has announced a 30 million dollar Series A funding round from heavyweight tech investors and apparel brands including Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings.
The round was led by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance, with participation from SWEN Capital Partners, lululemon, MAS Holdings, existing investor EQT Ventures, and the family offices of Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Venture’s largest shareholder.
The new round also includes support from public institutions including French public investment bank Bpifrance and the European Innovation Council, the company said.
Syntetica has developed a proprietary solution capable of recycling both Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 from mixed textile waste in a single process.
“For decades, mixed nylon waste has been considered too complex and too expensive to recycle at scale. We have shown that it is possible to recover high-value materials from the waste streams the industry has historically written off. This funding allows us to move from breakthrough chemistry to industrial reality and accelerate the transition to more circular materials,” Marco Bertone, co-founder and chief executive officer of Syntetica, said.
The need to identify and separate different nylon types has been one of the biggest technical barriers to recycling post-consumer nylon at scale.
According to Textile Exchange’s Materials Market Report, global nylon production reached around 7 million tonnes in 2024.
Despite growing demand for circular materials, recycled nylon still accounts for only around 2% of the total nylon market because of the technical challenges involved in recycling post-consumer textiles.
More than 80% of textiles discarded by households are currently incinerated, landfilled or abandoned in the environment, underlining the need for technologies that can increase the recovery of valuable materials from complex textile waste.
Syntetica’s technology overcomes one of the main hurdles to increased recycling, making it possible to process more of the nylon waste that arises from the apparel industry.
The company said it is already working with brands including Victoria’s Secret and Etam, alongside a growing number of global apparel companies, as demand for scalable circular materials continues to grow.
The funding will support the planned construction of Syntetica’s first commercial demonstration facility in France, bringing the technology from laboratory scale to industrial production, targeting the processing of hundreds of tonnes of textile waste each year.
The demo plant will be developed through the company’s partnership with Michelin’s Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand.
The investment comes as brands, manufacturers and policymakers seek new ways to reduce waste and strengthen material supply chains.
Unlike most recycling technologies, which focus on clean production waste, Syntetica’s process is designed for post-consumer textiles, which account for around 80% of textile waste and represent one of the industry’s largest untapped recycling opportunities.
For Syntetica, this creates an opportunity to build new industrial supply chains around materials that already exist within Europe, reducing reliance on imported fossil-derived resources while supporting new manufacturing capacity across the region.
While nylon remains its initial focus, Syntetica plans to expand its technology platform into additional materials and applications over time, including opportunities across textiles, automotive and specialty chemicals.
The company is backed by French and European public funds, including Bpifrance and the European Innovation Council, as governments look to strengthen industrial capabilities around strategic materials and waste processing.
“Syntetica has developed a differentiated technology that addresses one of the textile industry’s most complex recycling challenges. We are pleased to support the company’s next phase of growth as it scales its technology and manufacturing capabilities in France, which is in line with our investment strategy,” Alexandre Wagner, Investment Director, Bpifrance Green Venture, said.
“Recycling technology succeeds when brand commitment, manufacturing partnership, and industrial scale-up expertise all converge – and Syntetica is one of the few ventures in this space that has brought all of these together. We’re excited to support Syntetica to scale their technology by leveraging MAS’ apparel manufacturing expertise. We see this investment as a strategic move for the industry as a whole,” Sid Amalean, Director, Group Innovation, MAS Holdings, said.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s growing technology ecosystem is creating new business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors, with local companies increasingly participating in international technology ventures and global innovation networks. The participation of Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings in French deeptech company Syntetica’s $30 million Series A funding round is an example of how Sri Lankan businesses are engaging with advanced technologies and global innovation. Such partnerships can help strengthen Sri Lanka’s technology capabilities while creating business/investment opportunities for knowledge and technology transfer. For foreign businesses/investors, opportunities are expanding across software and IT services, artificial intelligence, deeptech, fintech, digital platforms, cybersecurity and technology-driven manufacturing. Sri Lanka’s skilled workforce and growing digital economy also provide a foundation for international companies seeking cost-competitive bases for regional operations. As the country seeks to expand digital exports and attract technology-driven investment, Sri Lanka’s digital industry is increasingly emerging as an attractive frontier for foreign capital, partnerships and innovation.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260812Z_3 |