Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that invests in a large number of startups twice a year. It created a new model for funding startups. Twice a year, the company invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups. The startup accelerator works intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience.

Y Combinator

Lakehouse is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology-enabled businesses. The firm was founded in 2016 by John Neamonitis and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Lakehouse Ventures

Pioneer Fund is a fund of 330+ Y Combinator alumni, investing in the top Y Combinator startups.

Pioneer Fund

Supernode Ventures they invest in early stage technology companies including fintech, software, digital media, family offices, SaaS companies, and hedge funds.

Supernode Ventures

Committed to being a positive force in the broader food ecosystem, Almanac makes early-stage investments and serves as an operational partner for a limited number of next generation CPG, experiential retail, and agriculture and hospitality technology companies.

Almanac Insights

Sequoia is a venture capital focused on energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile startups. The firm helps a small number of daring founders build legendary companies. It spurs them to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The firm seeks to invest in all sectors with a focus on energy, financials and financial services, healthcare and healthcare services, Internet, mobile, outsourcing, and technology.

Sequoia Capital

One of the most active global food-tech VCs. We invest in teams and tech building a better food system.

Tet Ventures

Human Ventures is a fund and partner in New York City. They possess their own perspective on evaluating companies due to their experience in building businesses themselves. Consequently, Human Ventures focuses on supporting founders who are establishing category-defining companies in the pre-seed and seed stages. In terms of their investment focus, they concentrate on the Human Needs Economy, which encompasses areas such as health and wellness, the future of work and finance, the attention economy, and human connection through experiences.

Human Ventures

Valor Equity Partners is an operational growth investment firm that focuses on growth companies across various stages of development. For decades, it has served its companies with the expertise to solve the challenges of growth and scale. Valor Equity partners with companies and entrepreneurs who are committed to the highest standards of excellence and the courage to transform their industries.

Valor Equity Partners

Lux Capital manages over $5 billion in assets focused on founding, seed, early-stage, and growth investments at the intersection of technology and the sciences. Lux takes an active role in helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses in high-growth sectors. Its investment team has built over 20 companies from scratch. Lux's investment strategy ensures portfolio companies are better connected, have a deeper insight, and command industry leadership faster than their competitors.

Lux Capital

Reference Capital has built the ecosystem needed to find, track and access best-in-class Venture Funds that will drive outperformance for our clients.  We provide investment advisory services to institutional investors, including some of the most influential industrial families, foundations, pensions, private clients, corporate and government entities.  Our mission is to provide our clients unparalleled access to the most coveted investment opportunities in venture capital, with meaningful exposure to the emerging generation of technology leaders.

Reference Capital SA

Salt Creek Capital acquires profitable companies with up to $100M in revenues.  We work with successful executives through our Executive Partner Program to provide a replacement CEO for those companies requiring succession as a result of a change in control, often replacing a retiring owner/founder.   We are operationally focused investors and seek to achieve growth and improve the operating efficiency. Our investment experience spans several industries including business and consumer services, manufacturing, distribution, food & beverage, and healthcare.

Salt Creek Capital

Tao Capital Partners invests in technology, transportation, healthcare, education, and food businesses that have a sustainable positive impact. It is an active investor that supports companies through various stages of their life-cycle. Tao Capital Partners was founded in 2002 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Tao Capital Partners

Digitalis is a venture capital firm that that invests in solutions to complex problems in human and animal health.  Digitalis partners with entrepreneurs, inventors, and scientists across all stages of venture investing, and our investments span the full continuum of the healthcare ecosystem. It was founded in 2016 and is Headquartered in New York, New York with regional offices in Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Digitalis Ventures

Shine is a venture capital firm that partners with relentless, creative, convincing entrepreneurs from the earliest stages of company building.

Shine Capital

Kingdom Supercultures

Kingdom Supercultures create microbial cultures that help food manufacturers to create new foods with boosted benefits. It re-assembles nature's microbes into new combinations, creating plant-based foods that taste like dairy, low-alcohol beverages with full flavor, and natural preservatives that work as well as artificial ones.  They work with clients across diverse industries including food, beverage, personal care, beauty, and more. Their technology comprises an expansive biobank of GRAS microbial strains, high-resolution strain characterization, and new algorithms for predicting and assembling microbial communities.

<div>Kingdom Supercultures, based in Brooklyn, develops novel combinations of microbial cultures that can improve the flavor, texture and other properties of food; the company refers to these specialty ingredients as &ldquo;Supercultures&rdquo;. The startup is working on two main products; 1) type of starter cultures that can be used to produce plant-based cheese, yogurt, wines and beer, 2) bioactive ingredients that can act as a preservative or change certain functionalities of the product.</div>

A booming food and beverage segment with a history as rich and varied as its present-day product offerings.

Plant-based Dairy & Egg

<div>
 
 Kingdom Supercultures, based in Brooklyn, develops novel combinations of microbial cultures that can improve the flavor, texture and other properties of food; the company refers to these specialty ingredients as &ldquo;Supercultures&rdquo;. The startup is working on two main products; 1) type of starter cultures that can be used to produce plant-based cheese, yogurt, wines and beer, 2) bioactive ingredients that can act as a preservative or change certain functionalities of the product.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2021, the startup raised USD 25 million in a Series A funding round led by Shine Capital, with participation from Valor, Tao, Lux, SALT, Reference, Digitalis, along with few existing investors. The startup expects to use the funds to expand its R&amp;D facility and develop new ingredients, adding to its portfolio.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Eat JUST (Hampton Creek prior to 2018) is a food technology company founded in 2011 that produces plant-based alternatives such as JUST Mayo (made from yellow peas), JUST Egg (made from mung beans and legumes), and GOOD Chicken (cell-cultured meat). Eat Just has large-scale facilities in Germany and North America and in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9243">
 March 2022
 </a>
 , the company announced the groundbreaking on its new manufacturing facility in Singapore, the largest of its kind in the country post-completion, slated to be complete in 2 years at a cost of USD 120 million.
 
 
 JUST Egg, a plant-based substitute for making omelets and scrambled eggs, was commercialized by Eat JUST in 2018. In March 2020, Eat JUST reduced the price of JUST Eggs from USD 7.99 per 12 oz. bottle to USD 4.99. The company aims to make JUST Egg more affordable and as of January 2022, was available at Walmart online for USD 3.94 per 12 oz. bottle.&nbsp;
 
 
 In January 2020, the company announced a new folded plant-based egg along with an upgrade to its original liquid plant-based egg. The folded JUST Egg (priced at USD 3.88 for a box of four eggs in January 2022, down from USD 4.99 in January 2020), also made from mung beans and legumes, is ready to heat and eat. The Folded JUST Egg was available in more than 5,000 supermarkets such as Whole Foods Market, Albertsons Safeway, Gelson&rsquo;s Markets, Stop &amp; Shop, Kings Food Markets, and Giant/Martin&rsquo;s since April 2020. The upgraded liquid JUST Egg was launched in May 2020. By March 2021, the startup had sold a total of 100 million egg equivalents (up from 50 million in August 2020) of JUST Eggs in the US, Canada, and Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, and Thailand).&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In August 2021, the company partnered with Infinite Foods to launch its plant-based egg in South Africa, its first entry into a sub-Saharan African country. 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9599">
 In April 2022
 </a>
 , Eat Just Inc. received regulatory approval for its mung bean protein in the EU and is planning to launch the product in the region in Q4 2022. Further, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10634">
 May 2022
 </a>
 , tennis pro Serena Williams and renowned actor Jake Gyllenhaal partnered with the company to appear in its national ad campaign &lsquo;Really Good Eggs&rsquo; to promote JUST Egg. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13770">
 October 2022
 </a>
 , the company partnered with MingsBings to launch four new vegan breakfast items featuring JUST Egg. Also, during the same month, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13795">
 JUST Egg partnered with Starbucks
 </a>
 for a limited trial of new vegan menu items. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20178">
 July 2023
 </a>
 , the company partnered with Alpha Foods as a part of its brand portfolio renovation. Following this, JUST Egg 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21095">
 partnered
 </a>
 with Korean alternative-meat company UNLIMEAT to develop Korean-style vegan products.
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12427">
 August 2022
 </a>
 , the company bagged a USD 25 million investment along with a strategic partnership from Alibaba Group backed private equity firm, C2 Capital partners. Together, the companies are set to work towards expanding Eat Just&rsquo;s footprint in the Chinese market. Later, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21471">
 September 2023
 </a>
 , the company raised an undisclosed amount in new funding led by VegInvest/Ahimsa Foundation. The funding was to be deployed towards improving the quality and profitability of Eat JUST's products.
 
 
 
 
 
</div>

Eat JUST

<div>
 
 Zero Egg is an Israel-based developer of egg alternatives in powder form using plant-based ingredients such as soy, potatoes, peas, and chickpeas. The startup initially launched two main products, the EGG Basic, a replacement for scrambled eggs and omelets, and BAKE Basic, an egg replacement for baking. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13217">
 September 2022
 </a>
 , the company launched &ldquo;Zero Egg Scoopable Scramble&rdquo;, a ready-to-eat frozen plant-based scrambled egg product claimed to be the world&rsquo;s first of its kind.
 
 
 The company initially only sold to foodservice customers and food manufacturers in 2 lb. bags of around 86 to 130 equivalent eggs. In October 2020, Zero Egg entered the US B2B market following a successful launch in the Netherlands and Israel. 
 As of March 2024, the company&rsquo;s products can also be purchased online in Patty and Liquid form.
 
 
 In 2021, the company announced that its product is co-manufactured in Cookeville, Tennessee, and would be distributed by Gordon Food Service in the US in 2021.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18573">
 May 2023
 </a>
 , Zero Egg partnered with NYC&rsquo;s Plantega to become the latter&rsquo;s exclusive plant-based egg supplier. Plantega, based on a deli-in-store concept, featured Zero Egg&rsquo;s new Egg Patty in its bodega-style breakfast sandwiches, available via all its outlets and food delivery platforms. The following month, the company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19335">
 partnered with The Friendly Toast
 </a>
 , a US restaurant chain, to launch the Vegan Zero Egg Breakfast Sandwich at all of its ten locations.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In November 2020, the company raised USD 5 million in a Series A funding round led by Powerplant Ventures. The funding was earmarked for new product launches and expanding the company&rsquo;s US footprint.
 
</div>

Zero Egg

<div>
 
 Impossible Foods, a producer of plant-based meat products, demonstrated a prototype of its plant-based milk product in October 2020. The product has been under development by a five-member research and development (R&amp;D) team since 2015. The startup developed the milk alternative using plant-based ingredients, including a special de-flavored and deodorized soy protein. Impossible Foods claims its product tastes like cow&rsquo;s milk and functions (froth, cook) like cow&rsquo;s milk. Unlike soy or nut-based milk, the Impossible Foods milk alternative can be mixed with hot beverages without any precipitation. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In its latest funding round in November 2021, the startup raised USD 500 million in a venture funding round led by Mirae Asset Global Investments, with participation from returning investors. The latest funding is expected to fuel continued retail expansion, growth across its supply chain, product portfolio, technology platforms, and international expansion of its plant based meat products. The company plans to use the USD 700 million funding it raised in its 2020 Series F and Series G funding rounds to double its research and development team, with a focus on launching plant-based milk, steak, bacon, and fish.&nbsp;
 
</div>

Impossible Foods

Perfect Day produces animal-free dairy products using fermentation techniques. The startup uses microflora (microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, or in this case, fungi) to create the protein blocks of milk-casein and whey via fermentation, which is later combined with fat and water to produce genetically identical substitutes to animal milk. Perfect Day has developed the microflora to produce milk proteins with a similar genetic blueprint corresponding to casein and whey. The startup launched its first product in 2019, a limited line of animal-free ice cream. Perfect Day has also developed animal-free substitutes for cream cheese, feta, and cheese spreads, in addition to milk. Since its first funding round in December 2019, Perfect Day reported a doubling of production capacity while significantly reducing costs. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14938">November 2022 </a>, the company launched its Very Dairy animal-free milk in Singapore which is claimed to be the first precision fermented milk to enter the Asian market. Following this, Perfect Day <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14989">acquired India’s Sterling Biotech Limited </a>at a value of 638 crore rupees (~USD 7.81 million).In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20068">July 2023 </a>, Perfect Day exited its consumer-facing business, The Urgent Company (TUC), due to investor pressure and to shift its focus towards R&amp;D innovation, B2B partnerships, and its nth Bio precision fermentation consulting business. 15% of the workforce at TUC was laid off as a part of this move.Key customers and partnershipsThe startup will focus on ingredient supply and partnerships with food manufacturers, adapting a B2B model. In May 2020, Perfect Day announced a collaboration with Smitten Ice Cream to produce and launch an animal-free and dairy-free ice cream, which was later called “N’Ice Cream.” Smitten Ice Cream launched four flavors priced at USD 12 for a 16 oz. container, on par with the other animal-free ice cream products. Further, the company entered into partnerships with Tomorrow Farms in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10605">May 2022 </a>and Strive Nutrition in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10862">June 2022 </a>to supply fermented animal-free whey protein for the production of alternative milk. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11970">July 2022 </a>, the company partnered with sports nutrition brand, Myprotein to launch a precision fermented Whey protein powder. The company partnered with global food and beverage leader, Nestle in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12953">September 2022 </a>to develop and trial an unnamed alternative milk beverage. Further, during the same month, the company unveiled its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13187">enterprise biology business, “nth Bio” </a>, offering precision fermentation expertise and technology to companies worldwide and announced Onego Bio as its first partner in this new venture.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26920">February 2024</a>, Perfect Day partnered with Unilever-owned ice cream company Breyers, to supply precision-fermented whey protein for developing a lactose-free ice cream product.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25248">January 2024 </a>, Perfect Day raised up to USD 90 million in pre-Series E funding led by its internal investors. The funding was earmarked for supporting Perfect Day's shift toward manufacturing on a larger scale and paving the path for the commercial release of its fermented whey protein product.

Perfect Day

<div>
 
 Califia Farms uses almonds to produce a range of plant-based alternatives such as milk, cold-brew coffee, creamers, half-and-half, butter, and yogurt. In February 2019, the US-based startup launched &Uuml;bermilk, a milk alternative made with oat milk, pea protein, sunflower oil and seeds, flaxseed oils, and other vitamins and minerals. &Uuml;bermilk contains the same amount of calories, more protein (8 g), and less sugar (2 g) than a serving of cow&rsquo;s milk. 
 
 
 In May 2020, Califia Farms replaced &Uuml;bermilk with the Protein Oat product line, made with oat milk and pea protein, for a price of USD 5.99 per 48 oz (1.4 L). As of December 2020, the 48 oz unsweetened almond milk was priced at USD 3.99, while the 25.4 oz almond milk creamer cost USD 4.99, and 8 oz plant butter went for USD 4.79.
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14325">
 November 2022
 </a>
 , Califia Farms added plant-based whipping cream to its portfolio with the launch of Heavy Whip. During 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15601">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , the company added USDA-certified Organic Oatmilk and Almondmilk&ndash;made with only purified water, sea salt, and oats/almonds&ndash;to its range of alternative dairy products. 
 Further, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26576">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , the company launched Califia Farms Complete, a plant-based milk claimed to be nutritionally comparable to dairy.
 
 
 Califia Farms products are available in the US at Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts, and Target outlets. In its latest funding round in January 2020, Califia Farms raised USD 225 million in Series D funding led by the Qatar Investment Authority. Califia Farms intends to use the funding to expand its production capacity, research and development (R&amp;D) efforts, and geographical expansion.
 
 
 
</div>

Califia Farms

Provides sustainable solutions for dairy products and egg farming

Producers of non-dairy (such as plant-based, microflora, cultured etc) protein bases that are supplied to dairy alternative manufacturers to produce milk, butter, cheese, ice cream and yoghurt alternatives.

Kingdom Supercultures

Plant-based Dairy & Egg

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