Living Ink, a pioneer in bio-based colorant innovation, announces the successful closing of a $3 million priced investment round. Investors include Meliorate Partners, Evergreen Climate Innovations, Savia Ventures, Fashion For Good, and Norfolk Green Ventures.

This new capital will fund the construction of a comprehensive pilot pyrolysis plant, expand the integration of new waste feedstocks, and significantly reduce the production costs of Algae Black pigment, Living Ink’s scalable and renewable alternative to petroleum-based carbon black.

This funding will enable Living Ink to seamlessly replace conventional, petroleum-derived carbon black—a vital ingredient in everyday products like inks, paints, asphalt, cosmetics, fabric and plastics—by transforming algae and other biomass waste into their carbon-negative, renewable Algae Black pigment.

Additionally, the raise supports the company’s strategic expansion into new starting biomass feedstocks within their current process and the construction of an on-site pilot production facility designed for future deployment at targeted biowaste production sites across North America.

This facility will demonstrate the critical role of vertical integration and new, low-cost feedstock acquisition in achieving price parity for Living Ink’s black pigments. The pilot facility will also establish a reliable domestic supply chain of waste biomass, enabling the company to scale production to meet industry demands.

“Evergreen Climate Innovations is excited to be a part of Living Ink’s round alongside a distinguished group of investors. The company’s carbon-negative, bio-based inks and pigments offer a cost-competitive option for consumer brands seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their products and packaging. We have very high confidence in the impressive and talented Living Ink team and look forward to supporting them on their next phase of growth,” said Evergreen managing director Paul Seidler.

By processing waste feedstocks on-site, this integrated approach will significantly reduce costs, offering brands and manufacturers a more affordable path to adopt Algae Ink throughout their supply chains, while reinforcing Living Ink’s commitment to sustainable innovation. This investment enables Living Ink’s feedstock-agnostic approach, addressing biological waste disposal challenges across numerous industries.

The company will now integrate diverse biomass waste inputs from sectors including food and beverage, precision fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and algae cultivation and disposal.

Recently, Living Ink was also accepted into Cohort 6 of the 100+ Accelerator led by ABinBev and other global partners Coca-Cola, Danone, Colgate-Palmolive, and Unilever. Through the 100+ Accelerator, Living Ink is collaborating with AB InBev to transform AB InBev’s waste biomass into sustainable Algae Black pigments. This initiative, backed by accelerator funding, will expedite the development of this innovative process, while also demonstrating the technology at pilot scale.

“Living Ink is revolutionizing sustainable materials with its groundbreaking algae-based ink technology. Their commitment to innovation and eco-friendly solutions aligns perfectly with our vision for investing in companies that will shape the future,” said John Soukas, CEO and co-founder at Norfolk Green Ventures.

“We’re excited to have successfully completed our fundraising and to welcome an incredible group of investors who bring valuable expertise to our journey toward global scale. After years of developing our idea, intellectual property, and product, we’re now focused on driving down costs and demonstrating market impact,” said Scott Fulbright, Living Ink Technologies CEO and co-founder.

Their growing product lines of Algae Black pigments and Algae Ink black ink formulations are already used in a wide variety of commercial color applications, including in packaging, apparel, footwear inks, fabric dyeing, plastics, paints, coatings, and rubbers.

Living Ink has launched trims, packaging, or apparel products with brands such as Ganni, Patagonia, Nike, Coach, New Balance, Kathmandu, O’Neill and many other industrial-scale adopters.