Biomaterials company Ponda closes crowdfunding round at €1.6 million - shattering their €230k minimum

Ponda, a biomaterials company out of Bristol restoring wetlands through regenerative farming, has closed its latest crowdfunding campaign, raising €1.6 million (£1.4 million) in a Seed extension that welcomed 256 new investors.

The company had previously shared with EU-Startups that they were looking to raise “at least €230k (£200k), with no cap” back in April when the crowdfund was originally announced.

“Our first fibre extraction machine was a kitchen blender. Back then, we were four students experimenting with plants and an idea we couldn’t stop thinking about. Today, we are closing this crowdfunding round with a whole new community of people choosing to believe in our mission.

“A lot has happened in between, and none of it has happened alone. Ponda has been shaped by farmers, conservation groups, the paludiculture community, researchers, universities, manufacturers, brands, public funding and grant support, programmes backing deep tech startups, and the friends and families who believed in us long before any of this felt obvious,” say Julian Ellis-Brown, Nelly Tehari, Finlay Duncan and Antonia Jara, co-founders of Ponda.

Ponda’s Seed extension comes amid funding activity in European biomaterials, bio-based textiles and circular-material technologies during 2026.

EU-Startups has reported approximately €118 million across 11 comparable announcements this year, ranging from Sparxell’s €4.2 million raise for plant-based colour technology and Salt & Fiber’s €300k pre-Seed round for seagrass-based textile yarns to Syntetica’s €26.1 million Series A for nylon recycling and PaperShell’s financing of up to €40.3 million for fossil-free composites.

The UK is home several of these rounds including Epoch Biodesign’s €10.3 million financing, Naturbeads’ €4.1 million grant and Bristol-based Uplift360 and Mykor, which secured €7.4 million and €4.6 million respectively.

EU-Startups previously covered Ponda’s €2.09 million Seed round in November 2025, the launch of its crowdfunding campaign in April 2026 and a €2.76 million DEFRA-backed wetland biomaterials initiative announced in July.

“Every investment, every share and every conversation has helped strengthen our mission to restore wetlands through regenerative farming while building the next generation of4 natural performance materials,” adds the company.

Founded in 2020, Ponda is a biomaterials company developing high-performance natural fibres and insulation from wetland crops. Its first product, BioPuff, transforms bulrushes grown on restored peatlands into a renewable insulation material for apparel and outdoor products, creating a new model that combines ecosystem restoration with commercial manufacturing.

Over the past two months, Ponda has welcomed three new team members across agronomy, materials science and business development, with a further three colleagues expected to join in the coming months.

The growing team brings together expertise across farming, science, engineering and commercialisation, helping Ponda scale its network of wetland farms and develop the infrastructure needed to bring regenerative materials to market.

Behind the scenes, Ponda’s focus has remained on expanding wetland farming and strengthening its supply chain.

This summer, harvesting has taken place across wetland sites in the UK and Europe, demonstrating the potential for regenerative agriculture to produce high-performance materials at commercial scale. Ponda uses bulrush grown through paludiculture – farming on rewetted land – to create BioPuff, their plant-based insulation designed as an alternative to conventional down and synthetic insulation.

The company outlines that each harvest represents another step towards restoring degraded wetlands, supporting farmers and developing more resilient supply chains for natural materials. Healthy wetlands are also critical ecosystems for climate and biodiversity.

Peatlands are among the world’s most important carbon stores, while drained peatlands can become significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Rewetting and restoring these landscapes can support carbon storage, biodiversity and flood resilience while creating new opportunities for regenerative agriculture.

“Together, we have been working to connect wetland regeneration with the products people use and wear. We are incredibly grateful to every person who has played a part. With this growing community, we are one step closer to proving that better products and healthier wetlands can be part of the same future,” share the co-founders.

With the crowdfunding campaign now closed, Ponda is preparing for its next phase of growth. Over the coming months, the company will launch new partnerships, bring more BioPuff products to market, expand its network of wetland farms and continue demonstrating how regenerative materials can reshape the future of fashion, outdoor equipment and beyond.

Ponda says the support received throughout the campaign will help accelerate this work – bringing its growing community of investors, farmers, scientists, conservationists, manufacturers and brands closer together around a shared vision for healthier wetlands and better materials.