SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins the later rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates.  HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

SOSV

IndieBio is the world’s first accelerator devoted to startups using biology to solve the world's largest problems. IndieBio is an SOSV program. SOSV is a global venture capital firm that operates startup accelerator investment programs. At the close of 2020, SOSV had more than 1,000 portfolio companies and $855 million in assets under management.

IndieBio

Breakthrough Energy Ventures is an investor-led fund made up of members of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, guided by scientific and technological expertise and committed to investing patiently in developing new ways to live, eat, travel, and build. Breakthrough Energy Ventures provides reliable and affordable power without contributing to climate change. Breakthrough Energy invests in new technologies that make power reliable and affordable for everyone while not warming the planet.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

The Kraft Group is a major player in the world of business. As a holding company with the network and capital resources of a large global corporation, their interests are diverse and concentrated in five specific areas:     * paper/packaging manufacturing and forest products distribution     * sports & entertainment     * real estate development     * private equity investing     * philanthropy Doing business in over 80 countries with tens of thousands of customers, The Kraft Group is comprised of 5,000+ employees, manufacturing and distribution facilities, executive office buildings and sports stadiums located on four continents. But unlike their Wall Street counterparts and despite their growth, The Kraft Group remains a privately owned, family-operated company with a strong entrepreneurial streak. They are nimble, responsive and fiercely independent. The Kraft Group is run by family members and trusted staff that share one thing in common: an uncommon commitment to customer focus.

The Kraft Group

Breyer Capital is a premier global venture capital and private equity investor focused on catalyzing high-impact entrepreneurs in the United States and China. Founded by Jim Breyer in 2006, Breyer Capital makes long-term, idea-driven strategic investments in its chosen core areas: social media, entertainment/media, digital health, and financial technologies.  Breyer Capital actively partners with a diverse set of companies including early-stage startups building breakthrough technologies, fast growing companies, and established worldwide leading corporations. Its team enjoys helping to frame strategic investments anchored by the passion of founders and owner/operator teams, the insights of its network of world-class investors, and a conviction that artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality will transform technology and investment opportunities globally.

Breyer Capital

Baruch Future Ventures is a pioneering, climate-tech focused, family investment firm. We bring unmatched experience, relationships, deep networks and a track record for generating superior returns. Speed to market is our founding team’s principal value proposition, with deep sector-specific successes of building “n of 1” companies.

Baruch Future Ventures

Purple Orange Ventures is an entrepreneur-led impact seed fund based in Berlin. They seek early-stage teams leveraging technology to remove animals from the global food system.

Purple Orange Ventures

SALT Fund

Ki Tua Fund invests in, partners, and works with innovative start-ups, to accelerate and scale disruptive solutions. The firm is combining science, nutrition, and technology to impact health positively.

Ki Tua Fund

Mayfield is a global venture capital firm with a people-first philosophy and a 50+ year track record of inception and investing, partnering with founders to build iconic enterprise, consumer, and engineering biology companies. Since its founding, the firm has invested in more than 500 companies, resulting in 119 IPOs and more than 200 acquisitions, and currently has $2.5B under management.

Mayfield Fund

IQT identifies and partners with companies developing advanced technologies. It evaluates emerging technologies and collaborates with entities that show potential for practical applications. IQT serves industries such as defense, cybersecurity, and telecommunications.

Darco Capital is the family office investment vehicle of David Adelman.  Darco Capital is an investment firm that focuses on investing in technology and consumer businesses, startups, and companies.

Darco Capital

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

Tet Ventures

Conti Ventures is the venture arm of Continental Grain Company.

Conti Ventures

We believe everything relates back to how we operate or the effects human existence has had on the planet. We make Seed and Series A investments into companies that use science and tech to catalyze sea changes in health and climate. We also actively seek teams building frontier tech within other verticals.

Shorewind Capital

Pledge Ventures is a value-aligned venture fund, and in partnership with Founders Pledge will invest exclusively in members’ companies. Pledge Ventures operates as a rules-based fund, basing its investment decisions on specific criteria. These criteria include the requirement that the founders or leadership of the target company are members of Founders Pledge, the company is in the process of raising a minimum of $20 million in a series B or later funding round, and the participation of a ''top tier'' venture capital firm in the investment round.

Pledge Ventures

Prolific Machines

Prolific Machines is a biotech company developing cell technologies to redefine how cells are produced for a sustainable and healthy future. It combines cutting-edge technologies to enable cell production at a new scale.  The company was founded in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Prolific Machines, founded in 2020, is a biotechnology company that specializes in photo molecular biology. It uses a production method similar to an industrial assembly line, allowing the company to develop cost-competitive cell-cultured products.

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

Optogenetics startup Prolific Machines raises $55m series B

Prolific Machines, founded in 2020, is a biotechnology company that specializes in photo molecular biology. It uses a production method similar to an industrial assembly line, allowing the company to develop cost-competitive cell-cultured products.Its platform leverages bioengineering, AI, and light for controlling cell functions rather than the more commonly used yet hard-to-control molecules. According to the company, this process enables scaled production and efficient biomanufacturing of high-value bioproducts including nutritional proteins, antibodies for disease treatment, and cultivated meat.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30218">June 2024</a>, the company raised USD 54.6 million in Series B funding led by The Ki Tua Fund, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, SOSV, and others. The funding was earmarked for commercialization efforts and customer acquisitions.

Mosa Meat is a Dutch cell-cultured meat startup founded by Dr. Mark Post of Maastricht University, and was the first-ever company to produce a lab-grown meat burger. The startup produces meat by growing myosatellite cells (muscle stem cells) extracted from an animal in a bioreactor fed with a nutrient-dense medium.The company replaced the fetal bovine serum (FBS) from its growth medium in July 2020, which led to an 88x cost reduction in its medium. As of March 2024, Mosa Meat operated the Center for Advanced Meat Production, Upscaling, and Sustainability (CAMPUS), a facility spanning over 79,000 sq ft that was designed to be expandable as demand grows.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21645">September 2023</a>, Mosa Meat became the first cultivated meat company to attain B Corp certification. The company also announced plans to apply for regulatory approval in countries worldwide. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21645">September 2023</a>, Mosa Meat became the first cultivated meat company to attain B Corp certification. The company also announced plans to apply for regulatory approval in countries worldwide. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31970">July 2024</a>, it conducted the first official tasting of its cultivated beef product, the Mosa Burger, in the Netherlands. This event gathered Dutch cattle farmers, food product developers, and industry representatives to collect expert feedback.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14175">November 2022</a>, Mosa Meat entered into an agreement with Singapore-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Esco Aster to commercialize its cultivated beef in Singapore. Further, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16845">March 2023</a>, the company partnered withNutreco to develop a cell feed supply chain that can expedite production and scalability while reducing cost.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28536">April 2024</a>, the company raised EUR 40 million (~USD 42.5 million) in an oversubscribed funding round co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and M Ventures, with participation from PHW Group, Invest-NL, LIOF, and LEF. The funds were earmarked for scaling production procedures, reducing production costs, and gearing up for commercialization.

Mosa Meat

SuperMeat is a cellular agriculture startup developing cultured chicken meat. The company uses chicken cells and claims to grow them in a culture medium free from antibiotics and contaminants to develop its products. SuperMeat also operates a test kitchen known as The Chicken. It is claimed to be the world’s first farm-to-fork facility where diners can observe the production of cultivated chicken.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21733">September 2023</a>, The Orthodox Union (OU) certified SuperMeat’s cultivated chicken as “kosher.” Further, the OU and SuperMeat will collaborate on establishing guidelines for the industry.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35765">November 2024</a>, the company announced it had achieved cost parity for its cultivated chicken and could produce it at at USD 11.79 per pound at scale, matching the price of premium US pasture-raised chicken.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9319">March 2022</a>, SuperMeat signed an MoU with PHW to supply cultivated meat products including chicken, turkey, and duck to the European market. The company also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8997">partnered</a> with Ajinomoto to set up a joint venture to accelerate the commercialization of cultivated meat while focusing on developing a cost-competitive cell growth media.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11867">July 2022</a>, the company signed an MoU with Switzerland’s largest retail supermarket chain and leading meat manufacturer, Migros to expedite production and distribution of cultured meat at a commercial scale with a focus on European markets.&nbsp;

SuperMeat

Uncommon (formerly HigherSteaks) is a UK-based cell-cultured meat startup that uses cellular agriculture to grow pork from animal cells. The company leverages cellular agriculture and in-house developed RNA technologies to cultivate meat and claims its technology eliminates the need for genetic engineering and growth media.In July 2020, the company unveiled the world's first lab-grown pork belly prototype and the second cell-based bacon (behind Mission Barns cell-based bacon unveiled in early 2020). The pork belly and the bacon were produced from a combination of cell-cultured muscle and plant-based proteins and fat. Uncommon plans to commercialize its cell-cultured meat by 2022-2025, pending regulatory approval.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19267">June 2023</a>, the company raised USD 30 million in Series A funding co-led by Balderton Capital and Lower Carbon Capital, with participation from Redalpine, East Alpha, and others. The funds were earmarked for the development of its innovative approach, expanding production, increasing the team, and initiating regulatory approvals.

Uncommon

Multus, a spin-off of SOSV’s IndieBio program, is a biotechnology company that specializes in the development of growth media solutions for cellular agriculture applications. Its portfolio includes serum-free FBS alternatives (Proliferum M and Proliferum LSR) and solutions that support cell adhesion (rh-Vitronectin) during the cultivation process.Multus leverages MediOp, a growth media formulation design platform, to develop its solutions. According to the company, this technology allows optimizing solutions using automated data analysis and insights. Multus also uses this platform to provide contract manufacturing services for custom formulation design and food-safe manufacturing compliant with ISO22000 to customers in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In December 2024, the company launched&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/37120">Proliferum B</a>, an animal component-free alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) for cultivated meat production.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25572">January 2024</a>, the company unveiled what it claims to be the first large-scale production plant-making serum-free growth media in the cultivated meat industry.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24911">December 2023</a>, the company partnered with New Wave Biotech, a bioprocess optimization software company, under a project funded through an Innovate UK Engineering Biology grant. Through this partnership, Multus planned to use New Wave Biotech’s AI software to optimize its process of developing precision-fermented ingredients for cell cultivation.&nbsp;

Multus

Based in Israel, Believer Meats (Future Meat Technologies prior to November 2022) develops hardware and cell lines for the manufacturing of cell-cultured meat, to commercialize its manufacturing hardware and techniques.Believer Meats uses fibroblast cells that can be triggered with small molecules to develop either fat or muscle cells. Fat and muscle cells are cultured in a unique bioreactor that removes the waste material from the media, allowing the company to recycle parts of the media to reduce feed media input by as much as 50%. The startup replaced FBS with molecules derived from Chinese hamster ovaries (CHO) to reduce production costs and plans to achieve price parity with animal counterparts.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12623">August 2022</a>, the company announced it has developed what it claims to be the world’s first cultivated lamb, using cell lines isolated from Awassi sheep.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15195">December 2022</a>, the company announced it has begun development of a 200,000 sq foot production facility in Wilson, North Carolina with an annual capacity of ~22 million lbs, which is claimed to be the largest cultivation facility in the world. Believer Meats plans to produce cultured chicken, pork, beef, and lamb for US, European, and Asian markets.Key customers and partnershipsIn March 2022, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9320">partnered</a> with Charoen Pokphand Foods to develop cultivated meat products for Asia.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17710">April 2023</a>, Believer Meats signed an MoU with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to collaborate on the development and commercialization of cultivated meat products. Further, ADM will offer its ingredient pantry and nutrition knowledge to enhance Believer's cell-cultivated meat process.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30520">June 2024,</a> Believer Meats partnered with Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth &amp; Water Abundance (AGWA), to advance cultivated meat production in the MENA region.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Believer Meats

Producers of cell-cultured seafood using cells extracted from fish. Startups have succeeded in developing prototypes of yellowtail and salmon

Producers of cell-cultured pork using cells extracted from animals. Startups have succeeded in developing prototypes of bacon and pork belly using cultured muscle and plant-based proteins and fat

Producers of cell-cultured beef using cells extracted from animals. Some producers in the industry are developing premium beef ranges such as Wagyu. Startups have only succeeded in developing prototypes in the minced form, with a few creating prototypes of (pieces of) steak using 3D bioprinters

Producers of cell-cultured chicken and duck using cells extracted from animals. Some producers in the industry are developing rare delicacies such as foie gras. Startups have only succeeded in developing products in the nugget form

Producers of growth media for cell-cultured meat production and ingredients for meat and meat analog (cell-cultured, plant-based) producers, which can include cell culture meat paste, culture fat, etc. Producers of growth media mainly focus on developing alternative growth media to FBS using plant-based or other sources

Developers of bioreactors and other technologies used in cell-cultured meat production. Industrial scaling and efficiency gains are key areas of interest for startups in the industry

Provide sustainable solutions for animal slaughter through the use of biotechnology

<div>
 Biotechnology firm Prolific Machines, which specialises in photo molecular biology, has successfully raised $54.6 million in a series B funding round. This investment was led by The Ki Tua Fund and saw participation from other companies including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield, SOSV, Shorewind Capital, Darco Capital, Conti Ventures and In-Q-Tel (IQT).
 The funds will be used by Prolific Machines for commercialisation and customer acquisition, a crucial development marking the company's shift from proving its process's efficacy to actively delivering it to customers.&nbsp;
 The company's pioneering technologies transform expensive, hard-to-control molecules into light, creating a more efficient and sustainable method. Their bioreactors offer customers the efficient biomanufacturing of valuable bioproducts, such as nutritional proteins, disease-treating antibodies, and cultivated meat.
 
</div>

Prolific Machines

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