Centre startup Levur raises $1.2m to brew a more sustainable future

Levur, a startup launched from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology and based at Macquarie University, has raised $1.2m in pre-seed funding to take its synthetic biology platform to market.

Levur uses precision fermentation—a process like brewing beer—to develop lab-grown, nature-identical oils that can replace traditional palm oil in cosmetics, nutraceuticals and food products. This breakthrough technology offers a more sustainable and ethical alternative to palm oil, which has long been associated with deforestation and biodiversity loss.

The funding round was led by Main Sequence through its SynBio 10x program, and GrainCorp Ventures, with investment from SparkLabs Cultiv8 and the UNSW Founders Program.

‘Lab-grown oils are essential for sustainability and solving supply chain issues,’ said Levur CEO Tom Collier, who is also a researcher with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology. ‘They offer higher purity and better functionality than current oils on the market. This funding will allow us to refine our production process and develop palm oil derivatives like MCT (used in cosmetics) and OPO (used in infant formula).’

Levur’s platform is a great example of how synthetic biology can be used to drive greener solutions in everyday products, while building resilient, future-proof supply chains.

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