In the quiet Perth suburb of Watermans Bay, overlooking the very ocean they are fighting to protect, Dr. Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury are perfecting what can only be described as "modern alchemy."
OK, so they’re not exactly trying to turn base metals into gold. But they are turning seaweed into a product that looks, feels, and performs like plastic.
Uluu (pronounced oo-loo) is more than just a biotech company; it is a mission to decouple our modern lives from fossil fuels, and in doing so, remove plastic from our lives, and oceans.
Since its founding in 2021, the startup has grown from a bold scientific hypothesis into a globally recognised innovator, proving that the solution to one of the world’s greatest threats - plastic pollution - has been growing under the waves all along.
The Spark: From Sea Turtles to Solutions
For co-founder Dr. Julia Reisser, the journey began with a moment of heartbreak.
As a marine scientist researching green sea turtles in her native Brazil, she discovered that the animals were eating more plastic than food. This revelation sparked a decade-long obsession.
After moving to Western Australia to work as a lead scientist for The Ocean Cleanup and later at the Minderoo Foundation, Julia realised that cleaning up the ocean, while vital, was only treating the symptom.
“I realised that until we have a compelling alternative to plastic, the problem is just going to keep getting worse,” Julia explains. “We needed to go upstream to the source.”
The ‘Aha!’ moment came when she looked at the ocean not just as a victim of pollution, but as a source of the solution. Seaweed is one of the most sustainable resources on Earth; it grows rapidly, requires no fresh water or fertiliser, and absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
The Partnership: Science Meets Strategy
While Julia provided the scientific vision, she knew that to change the world, she needed a business architect. Enter Michael Kingsbury, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer and business executive with a shared love for the ocean.
In founding Uluu their goal was clear: to create a material that was ‘plug-and-play’ with existing plastic manufacturing equipment, so that global brands wouldn't need to rebuild their factories to go green.
The process they developed is akin to brewing beer. They take farmed seaweed - specifically a red variety called Gracilaria - and ferment it in saltwater vats using specialised microbes. These microbes digest the seaweed sugars and store them as natural polymers called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).
When harvested, these PHAs become a versatile, biodegradable powder that can be molded into everything from waterproof textiles to rigid car interiors.
Leveraging the Local Ecosystem
Though Uluu has a global vision, its roots are firmly planted in Western Australia.
The company leveraged the local ecosystem to bridge the "valley of death" between research and commercialisation. With early support from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the CSIRO’s Kick-Start program, they were able to validate their technology in the lab.
They were early participants in the Startmate accelerator and have become fixtures at West Tech Fest. This local backing de-risked the venture enough to attract heavy hitters. In late 2024, Uluu announced a $16 million Series A raise led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, alongside high-profile backers such as Canva’s co-founder Cameron Adams, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and American supermodel and STEM advocate Karlie Kloss.
Lessons from the Lab and the Boardroom
The journey hasn't been without its hurdles. One of the most common challenges for a startup is scaling. In Uluu’s case, this meant moving from producing one kilogram a week to ten tonnes a year.
"Bigger is not always better initially," Michael reflects.
Building a small-scale pilot plant allowed them to innovate faster and fail more cheaply before committing to massive infrastructure.
They also learned the value of a "waste-to-wealth" mindset. The byproduct of their fermentation process is a protein-rich seaweed biomass that is now being used as a sustainable alternative to fishmeal in aquaculture. This has created a secondary revenue stream and further reduced the environmental footprint.
A Climate-Positive Future
Today, Uluu is no longer just a "lab project." They have already collaborated with global giants such as Quiksilver, Papinelle, and Audi to show that sustainability can be high-performance.
The next 12 months will be focused on scaling. With their new Series A funding, they are building a 10-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Western Australia. By 2028, they aim to open a commercial-scale facility capable of producing thousands of tonnes.
“We are looking to 10x our capacity this year, and then 100x next year,” Julia says.
“Setting the right culture is key, so we can do this. Hiring the right people, securing the right partners, is so important.”
At full scale, Uluu’s impact will be profound. For every kilogram of material produced, they can sequester and avoid up to 5kg of CO2 - a stark contrast to the 3kg of carbon emitted for every kilogram of traditional plastic.
“Seaweed locks away carbon and cleans up the ocean,” says Julia. “By harnessing it, we’re producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact. We are literally building a future where the things we buy help restore the planet.”
Her final piece of advice for fellow founders is to find something they are passionate about, and follow that.
"Find your passion and be persistent. Have the courage to be vulnerable and work on your dreams."
“It’s not easy running a startup,” she says, “It can go up and down. You can have very big highs, and big lows. You’ll need to bring that energy and persistence to the team, particularly when things get hard.
As you’re the founder, wherever there is a massive problem, that’s probably where you will be. It’s not easy.”
You can connect with Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury on LinkedIn, and learn more about Uluu here.
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