Neela Biotech Raises £2.1M Pre-Seed to Scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel via Microbial Upcycling

Neela Biotech Secures £2.1M Pre-Seed Round

Neela Biotech, a Cambridge, UK startup incorporated in April 2025, has raised a £2.1 million pre-seed round. The funding is led by climate investor Elbow Beach, with participation from Ascension Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Ventures Together.

What the Company Does

Neela Biotech produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through its Controlled Microbial Upcycling (CMU) process. The technology pairs AI-guided microbes with anaerobic digestion to convert food, agricultural, and forestry waste into fatty acids — a drop-in precursor for HEFA-based jet fuel.

Rather than building new plants, the company installs its system inside existing biogas plants. This approach lowers the capital cost of scaling SAF and targets cost parity with fossil jet fuel.

Leadership

The company was founded by CEO Deepanshu Singh and co-founder Friederike Nintzel.

Use of Funds

The pre-seed funding is taking the technology from the lab into a pilot-scale trial at a working biogas plant.

Round Details

• Round type: Pre-Seed
• Amount: £2.1 million
• Lead investor: Elbow Beach
• Additional investors: Ascension Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Ventures Together
• Funding date: October 8, 2026

Why It Matters for Acquirers

Neela Biotech sits at the intersection of waste-to-value conversion and aviation decarbonization. Its asset-light deployment model — retrofitting existing biogas infrastructure rather than constructing new facilities — could offer a capital-efficient path to SAF production at scale. The pilot-scale trial at a working biogas plant will be a key technical milestone to watch as the company moves toward demonstrating commercial viability.