Australia-based biomanufacturing company Cauldron Ferm has secured $13.25 million in a Series A2 funding round, bringing its total funding to $26 million.
The round was led by Main Sequence Ventures, with participation from Horizons Ventures, SOSV and NGS Super.
The new funding will support expansion of Cauldron’s operations, including scaling its technology for commercial production and growing its demonstration facilities in Orange, New South Wales. The company has also secured government grants in Australia and the US to support development.
Cauldron develops continuous fermentation technology, described as “hyper-fermentation,” aimed at improving efficiency in biomanufacturing processes. The platform keeps bio-engineered microbes in a steady, highly productive state over extended periods, increasing output while reducing production costs.
Biomanufacturing uses living cells to convert inputs such as sugars into products including food ingredients, chemicals and nutraceuticals. The company said its approach is designed to make bio-based production more cost-competitive with conventional industrial methods.
Cauldron has demonstrated its technology at industrial scale, operating continuous fermentation for synthetic biology strains at 10,000-litre capacity. It is working with partners to apply the system across existing facilities, including retrofitting sites to support continuous production.
The investment comes as demand for resilient and scalable supply chains grows. Industry estimates suggest a significant share of industrial inputs could be produced biologically, creating opportunities for alternative manufacturing models.
Michele Stansfield, co-founder and CEO of Cauldron, said: “For biomanufacturing to compete in industrial sectors, bioproducts have to deliver on costs, scale and quality. Bioprocess innovation is how we get there.”
Ben Squires, chief investment officer at NGS Super, one of the largest pension funds in Australia, added that the firm backed Cauldron due to its focus on improving productivity and economics at industrial scale.
