altM raises $10.3M to turn crop waste into industrial chemicals

$10.3 million Series A round

altM, a Bengaluru-based startup that turns agricultural waste into industrial chemicals, has closed a $10.3 million Series A round. Rainmatter and Mela Ventures led the deal, with Omnivore, Theia Ventures, Aureolis Ventures, Spectrum Impact, VC Grid and a group of strategic angels all joining in.

Where the money will go

The money will bankroll a 1,000-tonne-per-year commercial plant by 2028 and expand altM’s 70-tonne pilot line in Electronic City. The company plans to sell out the pilot’s capacity by the first quarter of FY28 and then scale to 10,000 tonnes a year over the next five years. At full run-rate, management projects $100–200 million in annual revenue, depending on the mix of molecules it produces.

Funds will also beef up R&D, speed customer qualification programmes and grow engineering and commercial teams.

How the platform works

altM’s platform takes sugarcane bagasse and rice straw and breaks them into cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. From that single feedstock, the company makes multiple products, cutting dependence on fossil-derived chemicals.

Six molecules have reached demonstration scale; three are now headed for pilot production. First out of the gate are a lignin-derived SPF booster, a cellulose-based rheology modifier and bio-derived ferulic acid, all aimed at beauty, personal-care and textile markets.

R&D and patents

altM runs an integrated R&D and pilot plant in Bengaluru’s Electronic City. Since its 2023 seed round, the company has quintupled lab space, commissioned a demonstration line and brought six molecules to demo scale.

It has filed six patents in India for its deconstruction technology and molecule-upgrading processes, with more filings planned abroad. Development cycles that once took 12–15 months now take less than six.

Team and competition

altM was founded in 2022 by Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, both former Tesla manufacturing leaders. Dr Harshad Velankar, a bioprocessing scientist, later joined as chief scientific officer.

The company now works with nearly 30 beauty and personal-care customers, 16–18 of whom are in active validation.

Competitors include Scimplifi, Covvalent, Atomgrid and Tulon Materials, all racing to replace fossil-based materials with bio-based alternatives.

What investors say

Abhinav Negi of Rainmatter calls altM “a pivotal player” that can displace fossil-derived inputs across industrial supply chains. Krishnakumar N at Mela Ventures praises the team’s ability to solve complex chemistry problems at scale. Omnivore partner Abhilash Sethi says moving from lab research to commercial manufacturing is a rare feat in deeptech.

Founders’ Tesla roots

Co-founders Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain both worked at Tesla, where they oversaw large-scale manufacturing. That experience shaped altM’s focus on commercial scalability, even as Tesla itself has pulled back from some hardware-heavy green projects like its Solar Roof tiles.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

altM’s Series A puts India on the map for commercial-scale bio-based chemicals; if the pilot sells out as planned, the next fundraising round could price at a sharp premium to reflect de-risked revenue.

Key takeaways

• The $10.3 million round will finance altM’s first 1,000-tonne commercial line by 2028 and fill its 70-tonne pilot capacity by Q1 FY28.
• altM’s process turns agricultural residue into multiple high-value chemicals, cutting reliance on fossil feedstocks.
• The company has already shrunk development cycles from 15 months to under six and serves nearly 30 beauty and personal-care customers.

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