Business Roundup

Mitsubishi Chemical Group will expand sugar ester capacity at a plant it is building in Kitakyushu City, Japan. The plant is opening this month with 2,000 metric tons (t) per year of capacity for the food emulsifier. The addition will increase output by 1,100 t in 2026.

Quantistry, a start-up that uses artificial intelligence to discover new materials, has raised $3.3 million to search for materials useful in batteries, semiconductors, and other technologies. The firm uses simulations to rapidly test new materials in computer models.

Novocarbo has raised $27.2 million to build facilities that remove atmospheric carbon dioxide by producing biochar via pyrolysis. The biochar can be used to improve soil fertility.

Furno has closed a $6.5 million seed round for a modular cement production system that it says is twice as efficient as conventional cement kilns. The funding was led by Energy Capital Ventures.

Kuehnle AgroSystems has raised $3 million in a series A2 funding round led by S2G Ventures. The firm uses microalgae to produce astaxanthin, an animal feed ingredient normally made synthetically, that gives farmed shrimp and salmon their red color.

W. R. Grace has expanded its pharmaceutical chemical facility in South Haven, Michigan, by 25%. The firm added a Hastelloy centrifuge and three multiuse reactors during the 21-month project.

Zephyr AI has raised $111 million from Eli Lilly and Company and others in a series A funding round. The start-up uses artificial intelligence to analyze large quantities of data to bring personalized medicine to more people.

Tubulis has raised $139 million to advance its antibody-drug conjugates into human trials for multiple cancer types. The German biotechnology firm will also open a US subsidiary.