📝 Ponda raises $1.85M

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Bristol-based biomaterials startup Ponda has closed a $1.85 million Seed extension via a crowdfunding campaign that attracted 256 new investors, significantly surpassing its initial target of $260,000 to scale its wetland-restoration and regenerative material platform. Spun out in 2020, the company utilizes paludiculture—farming on rewetted peatlands—to cultivate bulrushes for its flagship product, BioPuff, a natural insulation alternative to synthetic and down fill for apparel and outdoor gear. The extension arrives alongside expanding summer harvests across Europe, ongoing team expansion, and prior non-dilutive support, positioning Ponda within a broader 2026 surge in European bio-based textile funding as it accelerates commercialization and builds out a sustainable supply chain for natural performance materials.

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