Traction & Roadmap
Milestones, pipeline and regulatory progress
€900k
2024–2025 POC revenue (first paying customer)
3
commercial partnerships (top-tier strategics)
85+
signed LOIs & NDAs
Milestones
seed → Series A → scale
- 2023–24Strain library established · IP filed
Expression strains built and validated for the first target proteins. Continuous-production and downstream-purification families filed via PCT (patent-pending, not granted). Strain library held as trade secret rather than published.
- 2025500 L pilot running continuously
Continuous operation validated at 500 L: months of steady-state running rather than discrete campaigns, with purity held to specification across the run. Funded alongside grant and milestone revenue.
- 2026Round A €5.5M · first commercial revenue
Funds the 2,000 L line, the strain library and the commercial team. First revenue from cosmetic-grade actives, the beachhead with the shortest qualification cycle.
- 2027First platform licence · food-grade certification
2,000 L line commissioned and the first process licence signed, opening the second engine. Food-grade certification obtained for the first product, unlocking food-processing accounts.
- 2028Platform overtakes product · Round B €15M
Licensing and systems revenue passes direct product revenue and becomes the dominant engine. €15M Round B funds the 5,000 L scale and the first multi-site licensees. EBITDA reaches the edge of breakeven.
- 2029EBITDA and net profit positive
The platform engine carries the business through breakeven on both EBITDA and net profit, four years after the Round A close, with roughly 18 active customers.
- 2030Round C €30M · multi-site rollout
€30M Round C funds the industrial network and the licensee build-out, against a business already generating cash.
- 2031–32~€119M revenue at scale
Roughly €119M total revenue by 2032, the large majority from the licensed platform, with the direct product line continuing as the proof case and the strain pipeline behind it.
Commercial pull
segments under NDA
- Top-5 global foodLOI + POC active
- Top-3 global CPGLOI · first sample
- Top-3 global fermentationLOI · 6-mo validation
- Cosmetics KR/JPSamples in testing
Regulatory status
real status (2025/26) + NOVAKERN's planned filings
| Region | Pathway | Status | NOVAKERN plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Cosmetics Regulation | Safety assessment per ingredient; no novel-food gate for topical use | First route to market: cosmetic-grade actives, shortest qualification cycle |
| European Union | Food enzyme authorisation | Dossier required per enzyme and intended use; multi-year review | Food-processing applications follow once the cosmetics line is generating revenue |
| European Union | REACH | Registration obligations scale by tonnage band | Technical and industrial grades registered as volumes cross each band |
| Quality system | Food-grade from pilot onward | Built to food-grade standards from the 500 L pilot line | Certification at scale requires no re-engineering of the process |