Co-founded by Shen Ming Lee, Boon Uranukul and Min Hao Wong, the company seeks to pioneer microbial technology to create sustainable alternatives to palm oil derivatives and cocoa butter for use in personal care, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and foods.
To date, it has raised funds from ADB Ventures, The Radical Fund, Elev8.vc, Better Bite Ventures, among other investors, and is supported by Breakthrough Energy’s global Fellows programme.
Terra Oleo’s tunable platform harnesses precision fermentation to transform agro-industrial waste into sustainable palm oil ingredients and cocoa butter alternatives.
Backed by deep synthetic biology and microbial engineering expertise, the platform delivers tailored lipid profiles for high-value palm and cocoa applications, while eliminating energy-intensive refining steps and toxic byproducts of conventional processes.
This approach overcomes the limits of natural microbes, delivering superior unit economics and faster market adoption than other solutions.
According to the firm, its technology, at full scale, could eliminate up to 900m tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from palm oil and cocoa supply chains.
The company has already signed product testing agreements with several global and regional leaders in oleochemicals, food, personal care, and cosmetics.
With validation underway and growing demand, Terra Oleo is preparing to scale from lab to market with products designed to match or surpass conventional performance.
“We founded Terra Oleo to reinvent how we produce the fats and oils that power our everyday lives. With support from the Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme and our incredible investors, we are deeply honoured and excited to bring sustainable, scalable alternatives to market, and collaborate with partners to decarbonise palm oil and cocoa,” said Lee, co-founder and CEO.
Data cited by the company indicated that palm oil and cocoa supply chains are under strain from climate instability, regulatory pressures, and limited land.
In 2024, cocoa’s end-of-season stocks reportedly fell 26% and futures prices reached record highs, while global palm oil exports dropped 5.83% year-over-year amid rising demand and production constraints.
As these pressures drive up costs and supply volatility, leaving producers and consumer goods companies in urgent need of alternatives, Terra Oleo’s technology aims to meet this need by reestablishing how lipid ingredients are produced.
Seeking collaboration
Terra Oleo was selected to join Breakthrough Energy’s 2025 Fellows programme, which supports early-stage innovators developing technologies with the potential to tackle climate and energy challenges around the world.
The programme provides philanthropic funding, tailored support, and connections to help innovators turn ideas into scalable solutions.
Participants are said to be selected through a rigorous process to ensure their technologies are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at gigaton scale.
As Terra Oleo enters its next phase, the company looks to engage with potential partners in the oleochemicals and specialty fats sector to sample its ingredients or co-develop customised lipids that are environmentally friendly without compromising performance.
