Tydra Biomaterial Labs has raised $1.2 million CAD in pre-seed funding led by Spring Impact Capital. The company converts organic waste streams into high-performance, biodegradable materials designed to replace petroleum-based inputs across a range of industries.

The company uses a proprietary process to produce chitin-based materials from organic waste streams. Chitin is a naturally occurring material found in crustacean shells and fungi. It is strong, versatile, and biodegradable, but historically under-utilized due to expensive and toxic processing methods. Tydra says its process has a significantly lower environmental footprint and is more economical than traditional alternatives.

The resulting materials are designed for use across cosmetics, packaging, food, and agriculture — industries where demand for sustainable, locally produced alternatives to petroleum-based inputs is growing.

The funding will be used to scale pilot production, accelerate commercial deployment, and expand partnerships with early customers.

"We are one step closer to unlocking the full potential of next-generation biomaterials grown in Canada," said Athanasios Kritharis, CEO of Tydra Labs. "We believe the future of materials is grown, not extracted, and this milestone accelerates that vision."

Graham Day, partner at Spring Impact Capital, pointed to both the technology and the market timing. "We are thrilled to support Tydra to deliver a high-performance material that is not only environmentally sustainable, but can also scale to compete on cost," he said. "Policy and consumer tailwinds are growing the market. The timing couldn't be better."

The round included participation from Alacrity Canada, BetterWay Ventures, Brown Girl Angels, Capital M Ventures, Front Row Ventures, Propel Impact, The Firehood, and UBC Ventures.