Living Lab Ventures has announced an undisclosed strategic investment in the Indonesia Institute for Clinical Research and Scientific Exploration. Separately, Australian materials startup Uluu has secured A$16 million ($10.5m) in Series A funding.
Living Lab Ventures invests in ID’s clinical research firm
Living Lab Ventures, the corporate venture capital firm backed by Sinar Mas Land, one of Indonesia’s largest property developers, announced an undisclosed strategic investment in the Indonesia Institute for Clinical Research and Scientific Exploration (INCREASE) Laboratorium.
The funding will be used to expand operations, strengthen research outcomes, and accelerate the firm’s global network, the statement said.
Bayu Seto, Partner of Living Lab Ventures, said, “[..] Indonesia has the potential to become a regional powerhouse in health and biomedicine, and we see INCREASE as a strategic platform that can catalyze the national clinical research ecosystem, attract global partners, and enhance the future competitiveness of Indonesia’s healthcare sector.”
Headquartered in the Biomedical Campus at D-HUB Special Economic Zone in BSD City, INCREASE offers end-to-end research services—from study design and regulatory affairs to clinical and bioanalytical testing. The company aims to position itself as a regional partner for high-quality, globally compliant clinical trials.
INCREASE has established strategic partnerships with Tsinghua University (China) and Osaka University (Japan) to collaborate on healthcare research, technology transfer, and talent development.
Australia’s Uluu bags $10.5m Series A
Australian materials startup Uluu has secured A$16 million ($10.5m) in a Series A funding round to build a demonstration plant and ramp up production of its seaweed-derived plastic substitute.
The round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, with participation from Main Sequence, Novel Investments (the family-office arm of a major textile group), Startmate, and a group of impact and family investors, including Fairground and Trinity Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by co-CEOs Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury, Uluu uses farm-grown red seaweed (Gracilaria) and a fermentation process to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)—biodegradable polyesters that mimic conventional plastics but are recyclable, home-compostable, and marine-biodegradable. The firm states that its product is lightweight, non-toxic and climate-positive at scale.
With the new funding, Uluu plans to expand from its current pilot facility (which makes around 100 kg per year) to a 10-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Western Australia, enabling delivery of commercial volumes to customers.
The company already has partnerships with brands in cosmetics, fashion and automotive sectors, including public collaborations with Quiksilver, Papinelle and Audi, also established an Indonesian subsidiary, SeaSae, to work with seaweed-farming cooperatives for traceable supply chains.
Co-founder and co-CEO Michael Kingsbury commented, “The demonstration plant is a critical milestone to prove that Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”
