Dutch biotech startup Qorium has raised €22 million in its latest investment round, supported by Invest‑NL and LIOF alongside existing backers Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners. The deal also includes participation from a group of high-net-worth individuals, and Invest-NL’s investment is backed by the European Commission’s InvestEU guarantee scheme.
With the new funding, Qorium will expand its Maastricht facility, install larger bioreactor systems and scale up production to serve commercial luxury, automotive and goods clients.
The Idea to reinvent leather
Qorium has a diverse leadership team co-founded by Rutger Ploem, sustainability entrepreneur Stef Kranendijk and biotech pioneer Mark Post. Meanwhile, CEO Michael Newton brings commercial and materials expertise to the team.
The company began with the ambition to replicate the texture, durability and luxury feel of traditional leather, but through cell-based production, cutting out livestock, reducing waste, and delivering uniform quality.
Dr Mark Post told TFN exclusively, “As a scientist, my work has always centred on how technology can solve real-world problems. When I first began developing cultivated meat, it was clear that the applications could go far beyond food. Qorium emerged from that realisation and from the ambition to tackle a pressing challenge: traditional livestock-based leather is deeply unsustainable.”
Technology that reimagines leather production
Qorium’s process starts with a small skin-cell biopsy from a donor animal, from which collagen sheets are grown in bioreactors, then tanned into full-thickness leather. The company reports that this method uses markedly less water and chemicals, emits no methane from livestock, and produces leather with consistent quality and minimal waste compared to traditional hides.
The cultivated leather market is gaining rapid traction as brands seek materials that pair a premium feel with strong sustainability credentials.
By positioning itself as a supplier of a substitute for real leather, Qorium taps into a gap between conventional animal hides and synthetic substitutes. The team believes their product delivers full performance, durability, aesthetics and heritage, while offering predictable sourcing, reduced environmental cost and customisation potential.
Ploem shared with TFN, “Alternatives do exist, but they haven’t been tried and tested in the same way, yet the demand for a more sustainable option is undeniable. Qorium’s leather meets that need: real leather, reinvented for a more sustainable world. And the benefits go beyond sustainability. Traditional leather is limited by the anatomy of a cow, but Qorium’s cultivated leather can be engineered to precise specifications, offering consistency and performance that natural hides simply can’t match.”
With partnerships in development and scaled manufacturing underway, Qorium looks set to move from prototype to significant production scale.
What’s next?
The funding round not only fuels growth but also signals a turning point: cultivated materials are no longer niche lab experiments but credible contenders in luxury and industrial supply chains. Qorium’s move may prompt more brands and materials companies to reconsider the future of leather and the balance between luxury, authenticity, and sustainability.
Qorium CEO Michael Newton said, “By combining cutting-edge science with deep leather expertise and sustainable practices, we are creating real leather that offers better performance than traditional animal-derived leather, without the environmental and ethical costs.”
“Qorium’s leather is a breakthrough innovation that can transform one of the world’s most polluting industries. By producing real leather without livestock, Qorium shows how biotechnology can build a more sustainable materials system,” said Lisette Kersting-van der Boog from Invest-NL.
Guillaume Baxter, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, echoes the sentiment: “We’ve been on this journey with Qorium from the start, backing both the science of Dr Mark Post and the deep leather experience of Rutger Ploem. This investment reflects Qorium’s impressive progress to date and our strong belief in the economic and sustainability potential of its leather.”
