AmphiStar Raises $13.5M to Scale Bio-Based Surfactants

Belgian startup AmphiStar has landed $13.5 million in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC), marking a big step forward in its mission to replace synthetic surfactants with bio-based alternatives. The financing mix — a $2.7 million grant and $10.8 million equity investment — positions the Ghent-based company among 40 selected out of nearly 1,000 European applicants. This round pushes AmphiStar’s total funding to over $26 million, following earlier backing from CBE-JU initiatives, regional grants, and a pre-series A round involving ECBF, Qbic, and PMV.

AmphiStar’s core technology uses proprietary fermentation to upcycle bio-based waste and side streams, avoiding reliance on crops like palm oil or sugar. With growing consumer and regulatory pressure for more sustainable ingredients in the $43 billion global surfactants market, the company’s approach offers a clear competitive edge. Their product lines, AmphiCare and AmphiClean, are already market-ready and designed to meet high performance standards without the environmental costs of conventional surfactants.

According to AmphiStar COO Sophie Roelants, "This funding success enables us to take the next steps in AmphiStar’s journey to commercialisation. We now look forward not only to further scaling production of our commercially available products...but also to bringing  a first novel biosurfactant from our biosurfactant platform technology to market while expanding our range of products beyond our current personal care and home care offerings.”

Partnerships Fuel Expansion Beyond Europe

Beyond Europe, AmphiStar is strengthening its foothold in North America through a partnership with Illinois-based manufacturer Kensing. This collaboration brings AmphiStar’s biosurfactants to new customers by leveraging Kensing’s established distribution and manufacturing networks.

On the home front, the startup is also finalizing agreements with regional partners to scale up production and widen its market reach. The company’s synthetic biology platform, which already supports a library of over 80 biosurfactant molecules, can produce customized solutions tailored to specific industrial applications.

AmphiStar CEO Pierre-Franck Valentin explains that “This funding reflects the confidence that EIC has in AmphiStar’s ability to transform one of the key chemical markets. With growing consumer pressure on industry to offer less harmful products, the financial support ensures that we will continue to lead the way in replacing environmentally damaging synthetic surfactants with bio-based alternatives that retain functionality and performance while being kind to people and our wider ecosystem.”