Tydra Labs · Advanced Materials
( kaɪ · tɪn )
The materials around us haven't changed much. They should.
Explore the material01 — What is chitin
Chitin is the fiber that makes a shrimp shell hard, a beetle shell tough, a mushroom
wall rigid. Nature has been perfecting it for 500 million years. We've been throwing it away.
It's stronger than most plastics, fully biodegradable, and antimicrobial without a single
additive. Introduce it to another material and that material gets better in almost every way.
Nobody thought to use it. We did.
02 — The problem
Not anymore.
03 — The company
Millions of tons of chitin get discarded every year. Crab shells, shrimp husks, mushroom biomass.
Nobody wanted it.
We built a process to extract it cleanly and get it into the hands of manufacturers — coatings,
agriculture, packaging. At a price that competes with what they're already using.
Metric Tons · Every Year
of chitin-rich biomass discarded
globally — untouched
The equivalent weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza — discarded every year.
Product Lines
Vegan Certified
Source: Fungal biomass (mycelium)
If your label needs to say vegan, this is the source. No animal inputs. Performs the same as the marine-derived version.
Price Competitive
Source: Marine crustacean exoskeleton
Our highest-output source. Cheaper than synthetics, and the supply chain is already running.
04 — Applications
Chitin activates plant defenses and pushes back on soil pathogens. No residue, no special permits in most markets. Runs through spray equipment you already own.
Chitin holds moisture, moves actives deeper into skin, and fights bacteria and fungal growth without a preservative. Vegan batches available.
Add chitin to bioplastics and the oxygen and moisture barrier goes up 2-5×. Less brittle. Fully biodegradable. Works on existing extrusion lines without modification.
$2.4B+ biopolymer market · 3 industries · 1 material
05 — Why it works
01
Goes into the ground and stays there. No microplastics, nothing left behind.
02
Kills bacteria and fungi without additives. That's built in.
03
GRAS-listed and food-contact safe. Already in use in wound care and drug delivery.
04
Oxygen and moisture barrier goes up 2-5× over standard bioplastic.
05
Holds up to 150°C. No breakdown, no off-gassing.
06
A billion tons produced by nature every year across all organisms. Most of it never touched.
06 — The people
One of BC's 30 Under 30 for 2026.
One of 10 ventures picked from UBC's Science, Medicine, and Applied Science faculties.
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