Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of spider silk, is forming a joint venture with MtheMovement, an eco-friendly luxury streetwear apparel line that is part of the Kings Group of companies.
The joint venture will develop and sell Kraig Labs’ spider silk fibers under a new apparel and fashion brand called SpydaSilk and potential other trademarks to be announced. All intellectual property related to SpydaSilk will be jointly owned by Kraig Labs and Kings Group.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kraig Labs granted the joint venture and the SpydaSilk brand an exclusive geographic license to all Kraig Lab technologies for the ASEAN region, in exchange for a four-year firm commitment to purchase up to $32 million, with an additional projected purchase of $8 million, of Kraig Labs’ raw recombinant spider silk, with an initial payment of $250,000.
“SpydaSilk’s mission is to create high-impact products and technologies, so partnering with Kings Group, which we believe has strong product development expertise and intense understanding of ASEAN market, is a powerful combination that we believe will drive SpydaSilk’s sales and innovation,” Kim Thompson, Kraig Labs’ founder and CEO, said. “This agreement strengthens our leadership role with a partner who shares our vision and places Kraig Labs and Kings Group on the best path for success. Spider silk is among the strongest fibers produced in nature, and the agreement represents the world’s first large-scale commitment to purchase spider silk fibers.”
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The new SpydaSilk alliance combines the strengths of both companies and calls on Kraig Labs to provide fibers and materials expertise, while Kings Group will lead the marketing, sales and distribution. The two companies will work together to increase Kraig Labs’ product development agility and production scalability.
Under this collaboration, Kraig Labs and Kings Group believe that the material will not only be applied to apparel, but also will explore uses to enhance other industries, such as building construction and medical industries.
“Kings Group is dedicated to helping unleash the benefits of spider silk and this bold enterprise, the unveiling of the SpydaSilk joint venture, significantly accelerates that goal,” Walter Wee, chief investment officer of Kings Group, said. “We believe that we will help improve the world through innovation to drive profitable growth, reduce emissions, enhance customer loyalty and create long-term shareholder value. In researching various spider silk technologies, we came to the conclusion that Kraig Labs is the leader. Our agreement with Kraig Labs represents the first large-scale commitment to spider silk commercialization and we could not be happier to begin this part of our SpydaSilk journey.”
Kings Group is headquartered in Singapore and established regional offices in Indonesia and Vietnam. Through MtheMovement, Kings Group has made premiere eco-friendly luxury streetwear for the past 20 years.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a biotechnology company, is a developer of genetically engineered spider silk-based fiber technologies.