CellX

CellX is a Chinese cell-cultured meat startup. In 2021, the startup unveiled a selection of dishes made with its cell-cultured pork, produced using cells from China’s native black pig. The company expects to have price-competitive commercial products by 2025. CellX also intends to expand into cell-cultured fish, as most of the demand for seafood comes from the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to rise further in the coming years.

In August 2023, CellX launched what it claims to be China's first large-scale pilot plant for cultivated meat production. Named FX plant, it has a capacity of 1,000 tons of meat and serves as a testing ground for scaled production and offers consumer tastings. The company expects to launch a commercial-scale production factory in 2025. Merely a month later, the company announced it had completed the pilot production of cultivated fish cells in 200-liter bioreactors, marking a crucial step toward industrial applications.

In November 2023, the company announced the initiation of a new fermentation program to produce proteins derived from mycelium, slated for global launch by 2025. The proteins are created through the fermentation of carefully selected strains from over 2,000 edible fungi options.

Key customers and partnerships

To expand its international presence, CellX partnered with Bluu Seafood in April 2022, the first European cultured seafood startup, to support each other in commercializing cultivated meat products in Germany and China. In February 2023, the company partnered with Shanghai-based science and technology company Tofflon, to build China’s first pilot production facility for cultivated meat.

Funding and financials

In its latest funding round in June 2023, the company raised USD 6.5 million in a Series A funding round, with the participation of various investors, bringing the total funding raised by the company to over USD 20 million. The funding was to be used to complete the construction of its pilot-scale facility and initiate production.