Deep tech start-up, Marama Labs successfully raises $1.75 million in Euros to scale up its wine analysis technology.

New Zealand and Ireland-based tech start-up Marama Labs is creating a spectroscopy technology, named CloudSpec that is set to be used within the wine industry.

CloudSpec will allow for opaque liquid samples like wines and nanomedicines, to be analysed in a fraction of the time it takes with existing instrumentation, giving customers chemical data to optimise and improve production processes.

For winemakers, they will be able to use the technology to support and enhance their decision-making throughout the winemaking process, from the vineyard to the wine bottle.

“CloudSpec Insights is designed to give a busy winemaker colour and phenolic data on their wines at all stages of production that is easy to access, understand and act upon,” CEO and Co-Founder of Marama Labs, Dr Brendan Darby says.

“Before CloudSpec, colour and phenolic analysis was time-consuming, expensive, and overly complex. We’ve simplified the process and are seeing our customers gain valuable business insights by using this data in the vineyard, winery and retail market.”

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Information received through CloudSpec will be sent to a cloud where winemakers can make decisions around winemaking production, blending, vintage consistencies, consumer targeting and new brand development.

Some wineries already using the technology include popular Giesen and Cloudy Bay.

Marama Labs says that not only will they be expanding with the wine industry, but also through the life-sciences market.

This technology was able to secure investment from venture capital firms in Europe and New Zealand to successfully close a seed round of $1.75 million.

“This oversubscribed funding round demonstrates the conviction new and existing investors have for Marama Labs’ vision of optimising the world’s liquid resources through spectroscopy analysis,” says Darby.

With the capital raise, Marama Labs is able to partner with third-party testing labs in the US to make their technology available to smaller wineries.

“2024 will be a seminal year for Marama as we continue creating value for our winemaking customers and expand CloudSpec into the rapidly growing life-sciences market,” adds Darby.