SINGAPORE, 16 MARCH 2026 – Virdalis, a biotechnology company developing next-generation protein from Wolffia globosa — commonly known as duckweed — today announced pre-seed funding led by Wavemaker Impact, Southeast Asia’s leading climate-tech venture builder. The company is building a new category of high-performance protein ingredient that can be produced in any country, independent of arable land, water availability, or climate — a first for the global animal feed industry.
The global animal feed industry is worth over US$500 billion annually, with protein ingredients alone representing a US$300 billion segment. Yet the vast majority of the world’s feed protein is produced in a handful of countries and shipped across oceans — leaving most nations dependent on imports for a critical input to their food supply. This concentrated, long-distance supply chain exposes feed producers to volatile pricing, geopolitical disruption, and structural food security risk.
As global demand for meat, dairy, and aquaculture continues to rise, nations increasingly recognise feed protein as a strategic resource — yet until now, no viable technology has existed to produce it domestically at scale without vast tracts of farmland and favourable growing climates. Virdalis changes that equation.
“The world needs radically more protein, but it can’t keep sourcing it from the same few countries. Wolffia is the first protein source that frees nations from that dependency — it can be produced anywhere, at speed, and at a fraction of the environmental footprint. We’re not here to displace any single crop — we’re here to give every country the ability to produce its own protein supply,” said JM Aujero, Founder & CEO of Virdalis.
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Wolffia globosa starter stock cultivated by Virdalis, a highly nutritious and sustainable plant protein with potential to support climate-resilient food systems.
Wolffia globosa, commonly known as Duckweed, is the world’s smallest flowering plant — and one of the fastest-growing organisms on Earth. It doubles its biomass in as little as 24–48 hours, reaches protein concentrations of 40–45% by dry weight, and can be cultivated year-round without arable land, using a fraction of the water and nutrients required by traditional crops.
Unlike conventional protein crops, Duckweed requires no arable land, minimal freshwater, and thrives across tropical and subtropical climates — making it the first protein source that can be viably produced in virtually any country. Virdalis is building the proprietary cultivation systems, processing technology, and data-driven operating platform to turn this extraordinary biology into a commercially viable, feed-grade protein ingredient — enabling nations to produce their own protein supply rather than importing it.
“We’ve evaluated dozens of alternative protein approaches. Wolffia stands out because the biology is extraordinary — and JM has the operational DNA to turn science into a scalable business. Duckweed-based systems could produce comparable protein with as little as 10% of the emissions of conventional production methods. But what’s truly transformative is the geopolitical dimension: this is a protein source that any country can produce domestically, turning feed security from a trade dependency into a sovereign capability,” said Quentin Vaquette, Founding Partner of Wavemaker Impact.
Virdalis was founded by James (JM) Aujero, a seasoned technology and operations executive who previously held leadership roles at GCash, one of Southeast Asia’s largest fintech platforms. Co-built with Wavemaker Impact’s venture team, the company brings a tech-company mindset to agricultural biotechnology — emphasizing data, systems thinking, and rapid iteration over traditional R&D timelines.
The founding team combines deep expertise across feed science, agronomy, and bioprocess engineering, with operations spanning Southeast Asia.
With the pre-seed round closed, Virdalis is scaling its pilot production systems, expanding its technical team, and pursuing initial commercial agreements with feed manufacturers across Southeast Asia. The company is headquartered in Singapore with operations in the Philippines.
James (JM) Aujero
Founder & CEO, Virdalis
Email: jm@virdalis.com
Virdalis is a Singapore-based biotechnology company building the world’s first industrial-scale Wolffia protein platform for animal feed. By combining advanced cultivation systems, proprietary processing technology, and a data-driven production platform, Virdalis is enabling countries to produce high-performance, low-carbon protein domestically — strengthening national feed security while reducing the environmental footprint of protein production. For more information, visit https://virdalis.com/
Wavemaker Impact is Southeast Asia’s leading climate-tech venture build fund, part of Wavemaker Partners. Launched in 2021, Wavemaker Impact co-founds sustainability startups with proven entrepreneurs, with the goal of building a portfolio of companies by 2035 that has the potential to reduce 10% of the global carbon budget. Every startup that Wavemaker Impact builds is a ‘100x100’ company — with the potential to abate 100 million metric tonnes of CO2e and generate US$100 million revenue per year. Wavemaker Impact focuses on building ventures that target the biggest drivers of emissions, such as agriculture, energy, industrial processes, built environment, and transport. Its US$60 million debut fund focuses primarily on Southeast Asia and includes limited partners such as the United States International Development Finance Corporation, British International Investment, Triple Jump, JG Summit, and Qarlbo Energy. For more information, visit wavemakerimpact.com.