Origin by Ocean receives €7.5 million in seed capital to detoxify the chemical industry with algae-based solutions

HELSINKI, April 26, 2023 – Origin by Ocean, a Finnish start-up, has raised a seed funding of €7.5 million to lead the way in detoxifying the chemical industry by offering sustainable, algae-based alternatives to traditional oil-based solutions.

Today, global industries from cosmetics and agriculture to various consumer goods and textiles use massive amounts of various toxic and oil-based ingredients produced by the chemical industry giants. Origin by Ocean's algae-based alternative solutions challenge the traditional chemical industry by out-beating them both in end-to-end sustainability and superior functional properties. Origin by Ocean's biorefinery-based production chain is truly sustainable from the start, sourcing raw materials from countries suffering from eutrophication, creating sustainable business opportunities.



“Origin by Ocean's various algae-based solutions and ingredients can replace crude oil as a raw material in many products. Our unique problem-solving approach is to convert both harmful invasive and sustainably farmed algae into value-added ingredients. Hence, we’re solving two problems: producing sustainable ingredients for our global consumer brand customers and cleaning up coastal areas affected by invasive algae,” Mari Granström, CEO and founder of Origin by Ocean said. 



The company's range of value-added functional ingredients can be used in a variety of applications including cosmetics, detergents, food and textiles.

With seed funding totalling €7.5 million, Origin by Ocean will lead the way to a future industrial-scale algae refinement plant. €3 million are private funds from the main investors Voima Ventures and Lifeline Ventures as well as from Batofin and Security Trading. The equity round was further boosted with a €4.5 million loan from Business Finland, which was used to pilot industrial-scale algae refining and commercialise the process.