1x Serie A (Milan 2011)

Backs early-stage climate and alt-protein startups, mainly in Europe. Mathieu Flamini’s investment thesis flows directly from his role as co‑founder and CEO of GF Biochemicals, a firm he launched in 2008 to commercialize levulinic acid produced from renewable biomass as a substitute for petrochemical derivatives. GF Biochemicals positioned itself as a global leader in levulinic acid — a platform molecule the U.S. Department of Energy has flagged among key bio‑based building blocks — with applications across plastics, fuels and pharmaceuticals. That founding project signals a clear preference for platform bio‑chemistry and technologies that replace fossil feedstocks with scalable, renewable feedstocks. Beyond technology choice, Flamini’s approach emphasizes industrial scale‑up and market pathways: GF Biochemicals grew to operate out of the Netherlands and Italy, explored expansions into China and Brazil, took full control of Segetis (a company making levulinic‑derived products) and pursued a U.S. plant partnership with American Process. Those moves show an investor thesis that prioritizes not just laboratory innovation but de‑risking scale and downstream commercialization — the sort of hands‑on, growth‑oriented backing early‑stage climate and alternative‑protein companies need to move from pilot to industrial volumes. Flamini has also invested in building the broader bioeconomy ecosystem in Europe, helping create BIOCIRCE (a master’s program focused on the bioeconomy) and co‑founding The BioJournal, an industry publication. Public appearances and conversations — for example at investment and transition summits — reinforce that his focus is on sustainable chemistry, circular bio‑solutions and education of the talent pipeline. Taken together, these actions and affiliations explain why his capital and effort tend to flow to early‑stage climate and alt‑protein ventures in Europe: he looks for bio‑based platforms that can replace oil‑derived inputs, scale industrially, and plug into regional value chains and talent networks.