Halifax-based natural materials company 3DBioFibR has closed a $3 million funding round to help it to scale up its manufacturing capacity to meet soaring demand for next-generation biomaterials.

The company issued a statement Tuesday saying the participants in the round included new investor AoA Innovation Fund (part of the Seattle-based Alliance of Angels), as well of returning investors Build Ventures, Invest Nova Scotia, and Concrete Ventures.

3DBioFibR was founded in 2020 by CEO Kevin Sullivan and Chief Scientific Officer John Frampton, a biomedical engineering professor from Dalhousie University. The company has developed a process to produce industrial quantities of collagen fibres, which are the tough, flexible protein fibers that make up connective tissues throughout the body.

“This investment fuels the next phase of our growth,” said Sullivan in the statement. “It enables us to meet growing demand from our commercial partners and to become a qualified supplier for regulated medical and therapeutic applications.”

He added it will help to fund the company’s ISO 13485 certification, which is a key step in delivering clinical-grade fibers at the scale and consistency its partners require.

The round announced Tuesday is the first funding deal the company has closed since July 2023, when it secured an equity-and-debt round totalling $3.5 million, led by Invest Nova Scotia and Build Ventures.

The statement said the current round has come about as 3DBioFibR recently signed a string of paid partnerships and collaborations across key sectors—including tissue engineering, medical devices, defense, cosmetics, and apparel, with several multinational corporations.

“3DBioFibR has accomplished something rare, translating cutting-edge biomaterials science into real commercial traction,” said Patrick Keefe, General Partner at Build Ventures. “They’ve partnered with serious players in global industries and built a manufacturing platform that can deliver fibers at a scale and quality the market hasn’t seen before. This team is setting the benchmark in biopolymer fiber manufacturing, and we’re proud to support their journey.”

The company’s proprietary dry-spinning platform enables the production of fibers from a wide range of biopolymers, with performance metrics that meet or exceed natural tissue strength by two to three times, said the statement. Compared to conventional techniques like wet spinning and electrospinning, 3DBioFibR's process delivers material at over 3,600 times the scale, with vastly improved uniformity and cost-efficiency, it said.

“As an early investor in 3DBioFibR, Invest Nova Scotia has been active with the company throughout its growth into a unique business that offers novel and unparalleled manufacturing potential for biopolymer applications, representing multibillion-dollar market opportunities,” said Lidija Marušić of Invest Nova Scotia. “With this latest investment, Invest Nova Scotia looks forward to seeing 3DBioFibR achieve their objectives.”