Sheertex tights maker SRTX Inc. on Tuesday closed on more than half of US$40-million in financing from existing investors and named chief financial officer Timothy Leyne as interim chief executive officer. He replaces founder Katherine Homuth, who departed last month and announced the launch of a new venture Tuesday.

The financing milestone, set to be followed with a final closing by July 30 on the remaining amount, means SRTX will receive enough cash to fund its planned production expansion and drive to reach operating profitability by the end of 2025.

“This new equity injection will reinforce SRTX’s capital base as we pursue the plan to scale our production to capture a growing share of the tights market in the face of uncertain trading conditions,” Mr. Leyne said in a statement.

The four lead investors – Swedish retail giant H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Crown corporations Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada and Investissement Québec – said in a joint statement they were “excited” to keep supporting SRTX, saw “strong potential” in its vision and product, and thanked Ms. Homuth for her service. The group is searching for a permanent CEO and an independent director to join the board.

Ms. Homuth said in an e-mail: “I wouldn’t characterize leaving as my decision, but it was the path that became necessary for the company to remain fundable. I believe there were scenarios in which I could have stayed, but they likely would have required operating under conditions I couldn’t reconcile with the level of contribution I had made, or with the degree of control I felt was necessary to lead effectively.” She said she had made peace with her departure, adding: “If nothing else, I’m a customer for life.”

The financing, which slashes the value of SRTX to US$95-million before funds are received, from US$325-million, was a “pay-to-play” deal. That means investors who didn’t fully commit their allotted pro rata amount would see their stake diluted by 90 per cent. A source familiar with the matter said three-quarters of the company’s 140-odd investors participated in the deal, and that SRTX might bring in slightly more than US$40-million by the final tally. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Ms. Homuth embarked on an unlikely mission in 2017 to replace run-prone nylon tights with an rip-resistant alternative made from the same polymer used in bulletproof vests. She convinced skeptical industry observers that she could build a viable product and business, raised US$256-million and sold US$155-million of goods. SRTX products are stocked by H&M, Costco Wholesale Corp., Walmart Inc., Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd., Macy’s Inc. and Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS banner.

But after building a vertically integrated operation in Montreal last year as part of an effort to drive down costs, Ms. Homuth fell short of her goal to raise US$75-million in fresh funding she said was needed to carry SRTX until millions of wholesale units were shipped to retailers and paid for later this year. That prompted her to write a series of candid social-media posts about SRTX’s fundraising challenges and related frustrations, which she later acknowledged was not well received by investors. SRTX has also faced the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs and added duties on shipments, and temporarily laid off 40 per cent of its staff in February.

As part of her separation agreement tied to the financing, Ms. Homuth had agreed to submit to a new SRTX communications and social-media policy. She stopped posting on social media during the winter.

But on Tuesday she broke her silence to announce her new startup, Oomira, which she said in a Substack post intends to build a “real-world simulation engine,” a digital tool for informing corporate decisions. She described the product as a memory bank of data within organizations about their “people, decisions, relationships, metrics, deals, near-misses and ghosts” that employees could query for answers, particularly after those involved in those actions have departed. ”If we do this right we’ll help the future reason better,” she wrote. “Because the present clearly needs all the help it can get.”