Simplifyber

Simplifyber is a bio-based materials company that produces soft goods by injecting a proprietary natural fiber liquid, branded Fybron, into three-dimensional molds. The approach replaces the spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing steps of conventional textile manufacturing, which the company says removes about 60 percent of traditional production steps and lowers waste, energy consumption and emissions. The liquid is cellulose-based and derived from renewable plant sources including FSC-certified wood pulp, recycled cardboard, hemp and recycled clothing; the resulting materials are described as bio-based, recyclable as paper and, in many applications, biodegradable.

The company positions itself as a platform technology rather than a single product, offering formulations that can be tuned by raw ingredient and by target characteristics such as texture, flexibility and performance. Materials exhibited at the Future Fabrics Expo include PLYPILLOW (soft, flexible, 88% bio-based), FLEXIJUMP (lightweight semi-flexible, 89%), BATTLESTEP (durable structured, 92%), BATTLESTEP PLUS (heavyweight structured, 78%) and a 100% bio-based formulation, with bio-based and synthetic coating options that add abrasion resistance, water resistance and varied hand-feel. Stated applications span 3D-molded apparel, footwear, bags, car interiors and furniture.

Current commercial focus is on footwear and automotive interiors. Simplifyber states its process can produce a shoe upper in hours and that, at scale, a relatively small facility could produce in a day what a conventional sewing factory produces in a month with 100 sewers. Its first product, a cellulose-based shoe upper, was shown at Paris Fashion Week in September 2024 in a collaboration with Danish label GANNI; the resulting GANNI x Simplifyber Moon Shoe was reported as arriving in early 2025 and is promoted on the company site in three colorways with an interest-registration list.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang spent 24 years in luxury fashion, working on runway collections in Europe and the US and designing at houses including Alexander McQueen and Vera Wang, where she concluded that the spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing bottleneck and outsourced production were inefficient and polluting. She was introduced to co-founder Philip Cohen through a mutual acquaintance from his business school class and travelled to Nashville, where she used his kitchen pots and pans to smear a fiber paste onto a plastic mannequin; once dry, the sheet peeled off as a vest. The pair then tested different fibers worked directly into form.

Business model

Simplifyber develops and supplies bio-based molded materials and the associated additive manufacturing system to brands and manufacturers in footwear, apparel, automotive interiors and other soft goods categories, tuning formulations and coatings to customer specifications. Its technology also allows apparel companies and manufacturers to produce goods on site at their own facilities, reducing reliance on international transportation.

Traction

Simplifyber has produced its first commercial product, a molded shoe upper shown with GANNI at Paris Fashion Week in September 2024, with the GANNI x Simplifyber Moon Shoe reported for early 2025 in three colorways. It has raised a total of $4.2 million in seed and $12 million in Series A funding, and its Series A lead Suzano has been one of its main fiber suppliers since the company started. The company exhibits a range of tunable material formulations at trade events and states it is working with large brands.

Latest developments

In April 2025 Simplifyber announced a US$12 million Series A led by Suzano Ventures, with At One Ventures, Techstars, Plug and Play Sustainability Fund, One Small Planet, Staddle Holdings, Collateral Good, M.I.H. Capital, Overlay Capital and Meliorate Partners participating. Funds are intended to strengthen materials science and mechanical engineering, expand manufacturing and the team, build pilot-scale facilities, and develop new applications and partnerships beyond footwear, including automotive interiors.