XtalPi Inc. (“XtalPi Holdings Limited,” XTALPI-P, 2228.HK), a leader in AI and robotics-driven R&D innovation, announced a multi-million USD angel investment in Future Bio, a pioneer in bio-renewable plastics. The round was led by Yao Capital, with participation from K2VC, XtalPi, Capital O, and IMO Ventures. Additionally, XtalPi and Future Bio have entered a strategic R&D partnership, leveraging XtalPi’s AI and robotics platform to develop sustainable material technologies. This collaboration focuses on “atom-level optimization” of recyclable materials and processes, creating eco-friendly plastics with superior performance and over 95% recyclability, advancing green and sustainable development in materials science.
This investment and partnership mark XtalPi’s first foray into synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, expanding its AI and robotics platform into these fields. By integrating biology, materials science, AI, and robotics, XtalPi is deepening its interdisciplinary innovation, setting a new benchmark for digital and intelligent R&D in eco-friendly materials, and reinforcing its leadership in cross-disciplinary industrial innovation.
Technical Breakthrough: Uncompromised Material Strength and Closed-Loop Recycling
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, global plastic production reaches 400 million tons annually, with 36% used for single-use packaging and only 9% effectively recycled. Traditional recycling degrades material performance, leading to non-recyclable waste, while biodegradable plastics face challenges like poor mechanical properties and stringent degradation conditions.
Future Bio’s “biomanufacturing + super recycling” model addresses three critical pain points in the plastics industry: performance trade-offs, inefficient recycling, and uncontrolled carbon emissions. Its core technology centers on a revolutionary “macrocyclic compound” material, Vitrimer, designed at the molecular level to achieve both high strength and recyclability. Unlike traditional plastics, which lose performance during recycling, Future Bio’s solution uses advanced biomanufacturing to produce eco-friendly materials with mechanical strength comparable to petroleum-based plastics and heat resistance surpassing PLA/PHA. These materials can replace common plastics and meet high-end demands in automotive and wind power applications. In hydrochloric acid, the material depolymerizes and crystallizes at room temperature within hours, enabling easy repolymerization with over 95% recovery rate while retaining original strength, all at low cost and energy consumption, achieving a “zero-compromise” circular economy model.
As the first resident of UC Berkeley’s Bakar Climate Lab incubation program, Future Bio’s cutting-edge team has been featured in Tech Brew and headlined Berkeley’s official website. The Bakar Climate Lab notes that Future Bio’s technology could boost global plastic recycling rates from under 10% to over 50%, reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by over 150 million tons annually. XtalPi’s AI algorithms and automated experimentation capabilities will accelerate the optimization and scaling of this technology.
AI-Driven “Hyper-Speed R&D”: Unleashing Technical Potential
Post-investment, XtalPi’s AI and robotics-driven R&D platform will provide multidimensional technical support to Future Bio, optimizing recycled material performance and production costs to strengthen its competitive edge over petroleum-based plastics and accelerate commercialization. The collaboration focuses on four key technical projects:
- Designing and optimizing cross-linked molecules to enhance recycled plastic performance, ensuring strength retention after multiple recycling cycles.
- Using quantum chemistry and machine learning to predict optimal enzyme active sites for “atom-level optimization,” shortening enzyme engineering from years to six months and boosting production efficiency.
- Simulating thousands of reaction condition combinations with AI to precisely match parameters like temperature, pH, and catalyst concentration, building optimal recycling process models to maximize efficiency and reduce costs.
- Leveraging XtalPi’s AI materials platform to virtually evaluate and validate key metrics like mechanical performance and stability, guiding experiments to minimize trial-and-error and enhance R&D efficiency.
Through breakthroughs in technology, performance, efficiency, and cost, XtalPi’s technological empowerment will significantly accelerate Future Bio’s R&D and commercialization, providing a robust foundation for its innovative applications in plastic recycling.
Ecosystem Synergy: XtalPi’s Multiplier Effect
This partnership is another milestone in XtalPi’s mission to build a “sustainable innovation ecosystem.” As an AI for Science platform driven by quantum physics, AI, and robotics, XtalPi has created a cross-industry innovation network spanning pharmaceuticals, materials, energy, and agriculture. By injecting technology into Future Bio, XtalPi is expanding its footprint in eco-friendly materials and green technology, unlocking innovation potential at the intersection of healthcare and materials science.
Redefining the Circular Economy
Dr. Wen Shuhao, Chairman of XtalPi, stated: “True sustainability doesn’t choose between performance and environmental impact. We’re using AI to create a zero-compromise future. This collaboration is not just a technical breakthrough but a critical step toward a zero-waste planet.”
Dr. Wang Zilong, Founder of Future Bio, added: “AI not only accelerates technical iteration but redefines material recycling possibilities at the molecular level.”
The partnership between XtalPi and Future Bio ushers in a new paradigm for materials development through AI, automation, and synthetic biology, creating recyclable plastics without sacrificing performance or increasing costs. Together, they aim to deliver a value-closed loop for recyclable materials with strong market competitiveness, significantly reducing the carbon footprint across multiple industries. This strategic investment reaffirms XtalPi’s “technology for good” philosophy, breaking the trade-off between material performance and environmental attributes, amplifying innovation through ecosystem collaboration, and redefining the boundaries of corporate social responsibility and commercial impact. As more partners join, this green manufacturing network could become critical infrastructure for the carbon-neutral transformation of the materials industry.
About Future Bio
Founded in 2024, Future Bio’s team originates from UC Berkeley project scientists, dedicated to developing innovative solutions for climate change, carbon emission reduction, and sustainable development. The company focuses on synthesizing bulk chemicals from renewable biomass or waste, producing eco-friendly, recyclable bioplastics, natural flavors, and fragrances. By leveraging advanced synthetic biology, materials science, and AI computation, Future Bio aims to deliver scalable, cost-effective green solutions to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy. (www.fuche.bio)
