A Hawaiian biotech company has just closed a funding round betting that the future of a $2 billion antioxidant market lies not in sunlight, but in fermentation tanks kept in the dark.
Kuehnle AgroSystems has secured a multi-million-dollar Series B round to scale up production of astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant conventionally sourced from salmon and algae, made through a process the company calls dark fermentation. The round was led by IVC, with existing backers S2G Investments and Hatch Blue returning, alongside new investor Dest EOOD. It follows the company’s $3 million Series A2 round in 2024.
The capital will go toward expanding R&D, scaling up production for high-growth markets like aquaculture feed and human nutrition supplements, and pursuing regulatory approvals in new markets. The company is working alongside Dutch ingredient supplier Corbion, whose expertise in algal ingredients and industrial-scale fermentation is helping Kuehnle AgroSystems move from lab-stage technology to commercial production.
“This investment enables us to accelerate manufacturing scale-up, expand our commercial partnerships and bring a truly sustainable, reliable and cost-competitive source of natural astaxanthin to the global aquaculture and human nutrition industries,” said CEO Claude Kaplan.
Astaxanthin is a red pigment found in microalgae, yeast, and marine animals like salmon and shrimp. It’s added to fish feed to support immune function and overall health, and used in human nutrition to reduce inflammation, support brain and heart health, and repair skin damage. Its most concentrated natural source is an algal species called Haematococcus pluvialis, typically grown using energy- and water-intensive, light-dependent methods like open ponds or photobioreactors.
Kuehnle AgroSystems’ approach skips the sunlight requirement entirely. Using patented algal strains and conventional fermentation vessels, the company says its dark-fermentation process delivers higher yields at a fraction of the cost, land use, and water consumption of standard production methods, roughly one-tenth the energy, water, and land, by the company’s account.
The round follows a technical milestone earlier this year, when Kuehnle AgroSystems demonstrated astaxanthin production at industrially relevant scale through a partnership with Biorea, a result the company says establishes the technical foundation for a meaningful drop in production costs going forward.
The market opportunity is sizable: astaxanthin is valued globally at around $2 billion and projected to grow 15% annually over the next decade, with premium nutraceuticals a key driver. The company points to research suggesting algal astaxanthin’s antioxidant activity is roughly 6,000 times stronger than vitamin C and 800 times stronger than CoQ10. Kuehnle AgroSystems plans to bring the ingredient to market under its upcoming Ola’asta and Fantasta brands, targeting nutraceuticals, food and drink, and pet food, while also pursuing skincare applications through an ingredient called Astafusion, already approved for sale by the Personal Care Products Council.
Separately, the company is developing a fermented algae protein for human consumption, derived from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and is currently seeking licensing partners to bring it to market.
“By combining Kuehnle AgroSystems’s innovative biology with Corbion’s expertise in strain development, industrial fermentation, product development and global market access, we believe this collaboration has the potential to significantly advance the sustainable production of natural astaxanthin,” said Corbion CTO Yves Boland.
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