The Carlyle Group and Cool Japan Fund, an investment company, led a $222m investment in Spiber, a biomanufacturing startup. Other investors include Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Tokyo Century, Yamagata Bank and Satake Chemical Equipment. “Under the strong leadership of co- founders, Mr. Sekiyama and Mr. Sugahara, Spiber has grown from a promising Japanese start-up to the global leading player in the field of sustainable materials. At Carlyle, ESG is fully embedded into ourinvestment and value creation processes, as we seek to optimize the sustainability outcomes of each of our portfolio companies. Spiber’s mission and philosophy match Carlyle’s view to provide solutions that create long-term, sustainable value and impact as in our investments in Jeanologia and Beautycounter. We are honoured that Spiber has chosen Carlyle as its cornerstone investor," Yusuke Watanabe, Carlyle Managing Director.