ImpactAlpha, Aug. 10 – A mechanical engineer at Dyson, Adam Root had an idea for a washing machine filter to screen out microplastics that shed from synthetic clothing and make their way into waterways and, eventually, our bodies.
He raised seed funding as well as £133,450 ($170,000) last fall from more than 1,000 individuals via a Kickstarter campaign. Less than a year later, Root’s startup Matter has attracted $10 million from investors including S2G Ventures, SOUNDWaves and the investment arms of Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher.
Consumer impact
The UK-based company is expanding into industrial applications, including “wastewater treatment, textiles and so on, where we see large volumes of impact,” Root toldTechCrunch.
“It’s important to hit both ends of the scale. Don’t underestimate the impact at the consumer level.”
