Aqdot closes £2.55m funding round

Aqdot a specialist chemical company originally spun out of Cambridge University, with a focus in intelligent encapsulation, has completed a £2.55m oversubscribed funding round.

The round was led by Imperial Innovations, alongside Cambridge Enterprise, Providence Investment Company and Parkwalk Advisors. Due to the potentially significant environmental benefit of the technology, the company has also been supported by Climate-KIC, receiving approximately €135,000 through different Climate-KIC funded initiatives.

Aqdot will use the funds to further develop and commercialise its platform encapsulation technology. The company’s proprietary technology, originally developed at the University of Cambridge, enables valuable active products to be protected, delivered and chemically programmed to release where and when required. The technology can be game-changing in a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and household products. It enables customers to introduce novel and differentiated brands, reduce manufacturing costs and make a positive impact on the environment.

As an illustration, in biological laundry products enzymes are a vital part of the ‘cleaning power’. Currently the enzymes are substantially destroyed by other detergent components before use. By encapsulating the enzymes, in Aqdot’s “AQ-wash” product, it is possible to protect them and programme them to release only at the start of the wash. This reduces the amount of enzyme and detergent needed for a wash cycle and enables a lower temperature wash, resulting in significant carbon dioxide reduction.

Tim Wright, CEO at Aqdot, said “the continued support from our seed investors and interest from new investors demonstrates the robustness of our technology and underlines the rapid progress Aqdot is making. This funding round enables us to continue to innovate and develop our products in parallel while taking the first wave through to commercialisation. I am grateful to former CEO John Hamlin and the Aqdot team for making this possible.”

Kelsey Lynn Skinner, Director Technology Ventures at Imperial Innovations, said “we are proud to lead this round of investment alongside top-notch co-investors. Aqdot is a perfect example of high quality science leading to novel products, with many potential benefits to industry and society.”