""I grew up in the conventional palm oil industry," Lee told TechCrunch. "My family's business is one of the top producers in the palm oil space. And so I grew up a little bit - I have to admit -ashamed of what my family does.""
""I really had this desire to build something that was maybe going to build on my family's legacy, but in a way that was more in line with my values as a Gen Z, sustainability-leading person," Lee said. "We got thinking about what we could do differently, matching his expertise with my connections and strategic network.""
Terra Oleo is a Singapore-based startup developing microbes that transform agricultural waste into a variety of oils and derivatives as alternatives to palm oil. The company began in 2022 when co-founders Shen Ming Lee and Boon Uranukul combined Lee's industry connections with Uranukul's MIT-developed microbial technology. Terra Oleo operated in stealth for nearly two years and secured $3.1 million from investors including ADB Ventures, Better Bite Ventures, Elev8.vc, The Radical Fund, and a strategic palm-oil-industry investor. The founders are part of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows. The team mapped palm oil derivatives to prioritize high-value, technically tractable targets.
Read at TechCrunch
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