Team StartupCity

• BacAlt Biosciences secures Rs 18 crore funding, led by Avaana Capital, at a valuation of $8 million.
• Funds will support R&D, pilot facilities, team expansion, and market launch.
• The Bengaluru startup develops bio-based polymers from agro-industrial waste.

Bengaluru based biotech startup BacAlt Biosciences has raised Rs 18 crore in a funding round led by Avaana Capital, valuing the company at $8 million. Lubrizol InnoVentures, the innovation arm of global specialty chemicals provider Lubrizol, also participated in the round.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale R&D processes, set up pilot production facilities, expand its team, and build go to market strategies for wider adoption.

Founded in 2023 by Shruti Kutmutia and Pranav Nair, BacAlt creates sustainable alternatives to petrochemical based ingredients. The startup produces biopolymers such as bacterial cellulose and polyglutamic acid using agro industrial waste through bio-manufacturing. These polymers are widely used in personal care, home care, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and agriculture.

Kutmutia explained that most top selling consumer products contain microplastics in their formulations, an issue BacAlt aims to address. She added that the firm will launch its first commercial product in June next year, starting with a pre-pilot facility in Bengaluru.

BacAlt’s products promise cost efficiency and mass market accessibility, unlike earlier biopolymers that were expensive and difficult to blend.

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Investors highlighted the startup’s potential. Avaana Capital’s Shruti Srivastava said BacAlt combines fermentation technology with circular use of agricultural waste to meet performance and cost demands. Lubrizol’s John Patrin added that the collaboration will speed up the creation of new bio-based products for global markets.

The growing biotech sector has attracted venture capital attention, with startups like Peelon, GreenGrahi, and Zerocircle also securing funding recently.