Syntetica raises $30M to make mixed nylon recyclable at scale
The French materials startup is developing a chemical process that can recycle two common forms of nylon together, reducing a major sorting bottleneck.
Syntetica has raised $30M to tackle a problem that makes textile recycling economically difficult: mixed nylon products often cannot be processed without costly separation.
What happened
The French materials startup closed a $30M Series A led by Bpifrance’s Ecotechnologies fund. Lululemon, MAS Holdings, SWEN Capital Partners, Indorama Ventures, EQT Ventures and several family offices also participated.
Syntetica’s patented chemical process is designed to recycle the two common forms of nylon together. That could remove the need to separate them before processing and allow mixed waste to return to the existing nylon supply chain.
The company plans to build a commercial demonstration facility with Michelin and produce recycled pellets that textile manufacturers can convert into yarn. Strategic investors from apparel, manufacturing and chemicals may provide both customers and technical expertise.
Why it matters
Textile recycling is often limited by material mixtures, dyes, coatings and inconsistent feedstock. Technologies that work only on clean, single-material waste struggle to address post-consumer clothing at meaningful scale.
Syntetica’s advantage is that it is not asking brands to adopt an unfamiliar replacement material. It is trying to recover nylon that can re-enter established production systems.
The bigger picture
The real test is industrial economics. The company must prove that the process works with contaminated and variable waste, that energy and chemical inputs remain affordable, and that recycled output meets manufacturers’ quality requirements. The demonstration plant is therefore the critical step between successful chemistry and a commercially viable circular-materials business.