Today, Heliae announced that it raised US$28.4 million in funding from current and new investors. Heliae was a platform technology corporation. It manufactured high-value merchandises from algae.

Some of the members of Mars family and Salim Group's firm, Agri Investments Pte Ltd, were its current investors. Salim Group was an ASEAN-based global company. Thomas J. Edelman was the new venture capitalist to the latest round of financing. Edelman was a private investor who worked broadly with Dan Simon, Heliae's President and CEO.

The capital would be used to sustain the operation and expansion of the company's initial commercial enterprise in Gilbert, Ariz. In September, the new enterprise was expected to start distributing high-value personal care and nutraceutical merchandises to its clients.

"With Heliae's first commercial plant on schedule for startup in the third quarter, the company is in the final stages of proving the viability of our flexible Volaris  production platform and demonstrating economics at a commercial scale," said Dan Simon. "It's an exciting time for Heliae and the sustained support of existing investors, as well as the addition of new investors, demonstrates our momentum and continued success in scale-up."