ProjectEx, a Singapore-based farmed leather startup, has announced $1 million in pre-seed funding to revolutionize the luxury market with sustainable and cruelty-free exotic farmed leather.
ProjectEx two industry experts, biomedical engineers. Launched by Viknish Krishnan-Kutty, CEO of Slivet Technologies and Adrian Furstenberg, an award-winning South African designer.
Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the National University of Singapore, Cellivate Technologies is a deep-tech startup with a proprietary platform technology developing FBS-free media for cultured meat companies. ProjectEx will combine its biotechnology and synthetic biology expertise to grow alternative skin.
an urgent need
“As a designer who works with leather, I know firsthand the impact the industry has on the environment and animal welfare,” says Adrian Furstenberg. “Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword – it’s an urgent need.”
After raising pre-seed funding, the innovative leather company aims to hire a core team of experts to develop and launch its first exotic leather sheets within 18-24 months (as its minimum viable product). The company’s first product was probably the luxury horology brand watch straps and later, ProjectX tells Vogue Singapore the world’s first handbag made of lab-grown exotic leather.
Luxury without cruelty
ProjectX claims it is breaking new ground in the global market (albeit another player in the space Corium Biotech Portugal which seems to be developing exotic leather). The Singaporean brand will offer a sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional snake, crocodile, alligator and ostrich skins, eliminating the need to kill animals. The firm says its revolutionary alternative will significantly impact the industry, helping the luxury market move towards more sustainable practices..
The startup’s advisory board includes industry experts such as Albert Koh of the Koh family, which sold Heng Long Tannery to LVMH; Stanislas de Quercize, former global CEO of Cartier; And the current board member of the luxury brand Christian Louboutin. The company is already in talks with leading luxury fashion brands.
Recently, ProjectEx won Vogue Singapore Innovation PrizeIt aims to nurture regional talent, break down barriers to innovative education and develop the ASEAN fashion industry.
“At ProjectEx, our mission is to change the way luxury goods are produced and, starting with that, impact the rest of the notoriously wasteful fashion industry. Our vision is to create luxury without cruelty, and using our technology, we know this is possible,” commented Dr. Viknish Krishnan-Kutty