Norrsken VC is a Stockholm-based impact VC fund investing in start-ups solving the world's biggest problems while building massive businesses

Norrsken VC

Manta Ray Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund backing mission-driven founders that provides flexible and patient capital, leveraging time, resources, and networks resources and networks as far as possible to support its portfolio companies.

Manta Ray Ventures

Lever VC is a U.S.-Hong Kong venture capital fund founded by Managing Partner Nick Cooney and investing in early stage companies in the alternative protein sector (plant-based and “clean”/cell-based meat, egg and dairy companies). Lever VC operates globally, with offices in Hong Kong and the U.S. and staff in the US, Hong Kong, Europe, and Israel.  Entrepreneurs and startups interested in connecting with Lever VC about possible investment can reach the team and submit information about their company at http://www.levervc.com. Managing Partner Nick Cooney is the Co-Founder and former Managing Trustee of New Crop Capital, a private venture capital trust vehicle investing in the alternative protein space, and is Co-Founder of the Good Food Institute, the world’s largest non-governmental organization working to grow the alternative protein space.  The General Partners at Lever VC have deployed over $1.5 billion in capital over the past decade across a variety of sectors, including over thirty deals in the alternative protein space.

Lever VC

CPT Capital is an investment firm that invests in visionary founders. Their mission is to drive the food and materials technology revolution by replacing animals in the supply chain.

CPT Capital

Mudcake (formerly Trellis Road) is a microfund run by ex-founders dedicated to making the world a better place for the next generation. We invest in the strongest founders shaping the way we produce, distribute and consume food. Our typical ticket is $200k-$600k in pre-seed and seed rounds globally. So far, our portfolio includes 20+ startups on 4 continents.

Mudcake

Delivery Hero Ventures is backed by Delivery Hero, a truly global food delivery platform - whose network, distribution and expertise can be harnessed to help our portfolio companies fulfill their global ambitions.

Delivery Hero Ventures

Be8 is a growth stage venture capital fund focusing on food & beverage chain (Innovative Food, E-Grocery, Retail & Gastro Tech, Packaging).

Be8 Ventures

LBBW VC founded in 1998 as an independent subsidiary of the Landesbank BadenWuerttenberg, LBBW Venture invests in early and late growth stages of companies. Apart from long term financial support for its portfolio companies, the team offers special commercial support by active introductions to LBBW’s fast corporate client network, pitch sessions with potential commercial clients or direct applications within the bank itself. They have a broad successful international investment track record and growth support experience given their investments in over 60 companies. Their team members backed companies in Europe, Israel and the US and gained deep expertise across various industrial sectors. Their teams track record counts 2 IPO's, 1 unicorn and multiple trade sales.

LBBW VC

Sparkfood is a long-term equity investor that supports the fields of ingredients and finished food goods.

Sparkfood

Innovationsstarter Fonds supports Hamburg's young innovative enterprises in their research and development efforts.

Innovationsstarter Fonds

Founded in Bielefeld in 1891, the Dr. Oetker family business ranks among the leading branded goods companies in the German food industry. The Dr. Oetker brand is known to virtually every consumer. In numerous ranges encompassing, among other things, baking goods, baking mixes, dessert powders, ready desserts, muesli products, frozen pizzas, and snacks, Dr. Oetker is represented by some 400 different products in Germany. It is a market leader in almost all its product lines.

Dr.Oetker

SeaX - Southeast Asia Exponential Ventures is a venture capital firm investing globally in early-stage companies with game-changing “exponential” technologies. We deliver a unique access to a highly selective group of innovative companies from around the globe. We combine our strong entrepreneurial, investing, and scientific background with extensive professional networks across Asia and the US to identify the best investment opportunities.  Most importantly, we aim to achieve both financial returns and strategic advantages for our investors. Some of the key highlights - Access: We provides our investors access to deal flows globally with a primary focus in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. - Accelerate: Our fund leverages RISE's platforms and networks which has over 1000+ startups alumni across Asia and several hundred corporate partners to help startups scale quickly. - Advantage: Our investors are top multinational corporations and family offices, collectively we can become the network of entrepreneurs, business partners, and co-investors.

SeaX Ventures

IFB Hamburg is an investment institution and development bank based in Hamburg, Germany. They present opportunities for founding or investing in businesses in Hamburg. The company is engaged in financially supporting businesses of all sizes with the right funding.

Investitions- und Förderbank

Bluu Seafood

Bluu Seafood they provide services for food products in seafood made from fish cells, healthier, and more sustainably

Based in Germany, Bluu Seafood (known as Bluu Bioscience before <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8889">March 2022 </a>) is the first European cultivated seafood startup. The company is developing fish meat, using adult stem cells of a fish cultivated in a bioreactor with a nutrient-rich medium. Using scaffolds, the startup scales up the fish cells to form a biomass that is later developed into an end product.

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

Bluu Seafood Eyes 2025 Singapore Launch for Cultivated Seafood

Based in Germany, Bluu Seafood (known as Bluu Bioscience before <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8889">March 2022 </a>) is the first European cultivated seafood startup. The company is developing fish meat, using adult stem cells of a fish cultivated in a bioreactor with a nutrient-rich medium. Using scaffolds, the startup scales up the fish cells to form a biomass that is later developed into an end product.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12178">August 2022</a>, the company unveiled its first market-ready cultivated seafood products. Further, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28405">April 2024</a>, it inaugurated its first pilot plant. This 2,000-square-meter plant houses cell and molecular biology labs, process development zones, and a test kitchen.Bluu Seafood plans to commercially launch these products in Singapore by 2024 and in the US by 2025, pending regulatory approval.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9667">April 2022</a>, Bluu Seafood partnered with CellX, a Shanghai-based cultivated meat startup, to support each other in commercializing cultivated meat products in Germany and China.&nbsp;

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 <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.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15702">January 2023</a>, the company raised GBP 7.9 million (~USD 9.6 million) in a funding round led by Mandi Ventures with participation from SOSV, Big Idea Ventures, and others. The funding from this round was earmarked for the development of its animal-free growth media production facility in London.

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.Funding and financialsIn its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9252">latest funding round</a> in December 2021, the company raised USD 347 million in Series B funding, recording the largest investment in cell-cultured meat at the time. The round was co-led by ADM Ventures, while funds were to be used to accelerate its production plans in the US.

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

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 BLUU Seafood, a German biotech startup, has launched its inaugural cultivated seafood pilot plant in Hamburg-Altona. The firm anticipates the cost of its products to align with conventional seafood prices due to the capacity extension this facility offers.
 The newly established 2,000-square-meter plant comprises cell and molecular biology labs, process development areas, and a test kitchen. The plan is to initiate production with 65 l bioreactors, with a scope for expansion up to 2,000 l.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The inauguration of this plant aligns with the company’s goal of entering various markets, including Singapore, the US, and the EU, by 2025. Additionally, the frequency of developments in the cultivated seafood space has increased over the past few months compared to other types of meat. Therefore, this capacity expansion will likely allow the company to capitalize on this trend.

Bluu Seafood

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