Climate Adaptation
Luxury Fashion Maker Kering Backs Lab-Grown Leather Startup
- VitroLabs raises $46 million from investors such as Agronomics
- California-based company makes leather without using animals
A red, white and blue leather handbag by Gucci.
Photographer: Martin Divisek/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A California-based startup making cell-cultivated leather has raised $46 million in funding from investors including Kering SA, the maker of brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent.
VitroLabs Inc. makes cellular-cultivated leather that replicates the structure of animal hides. It will use the funding to scale-up its operations and expects to start pilot manufacturing this spring, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.