Hoxton Farms

Hoxton Farms is a startup developing cell-cultured fat using machine learning and “in silico modeling”, the use of computational approaches to model pharmacologic or physiologic processes. The startup humanely extracts a biopsy from an animal and creates cultures/cell lines from adult stem cells under controlled conditions. The culture is kept in a bioreactor where the cells proliferate into fat cells. The fat cells are then harvested for use in meat analogs. The company claims that the cell-cultured fat is a replacement for plant-based oils which creates an undesirable taste and cooking experience.

In September 2023, the company opened a 14,000 sq ft pilot facility in London, that houses cell culture laboratories, a food development kitchen, office space, communal areas, and a workshop, and has an annual capacity of up to 10 tons.

Funding and financials

The company’s latest funding round was in October 2022 when it raised USD 22 million in Series A funding co-led by Collaborative Fund and Fine Structure Ventures with participation from other investors. The funding was earmarked for the construction of its first pilot production facility in East London, regulatory approvals, developing customer partnerships to demonstrate cultivated fat applications and improving the cost of cultivated fat production at scale.