We believe that a radical change to our food, agriculture, and ocean sectors is necessary to meet our climate, biodiversity, water, and human health goals. We invest $100-750k in pre-seed and seed-stage companies working to transform these sectors. Our average time to reach a yes / no decision is 15 days (but check back because we update this number live). We keep our investment process targeted so you can go back to building your company.

Ponderosa Ventures

Undeterred Capital is an investment firm that invests in early  deep tech and bioscience companies.

Undeterred Capital

Bee Partners is a pre-seed deep tech venture firm.  We write Founders their first check and partner on their journey from zero to one.  These founders have the smarts, grit, and humanity to create the machines of tomorrow in AI/ML, Robotics, Automation, Synthetic Biology, and more.   Bee Partners is a collective of builders, designers, entrepreneurs, operators, and technologists with experience across big tech, startups, [research labs] and more.  We share a common goal: to deliver outcomes in the form of customers, ROI and venture-scale returns for our Founders, enterprise partners, and investors.  Our approach has led the portfolio to a 60%+ matriculation rate to Series A. Bee’s portfolio companies realize accelerated growth and have secured over $1.8B in follow-on capital from the world's top VCs.

Bee Partners

Elementum Ventures approach to venture is a bit bespoke. They are guided by close study of your company, your market, your needs, and your opportunity. They not only invest capital at the earliest of stages, they also invest theirselves, getting their hands dirty alongside yours, playing roles you wouldn’t expect us to play — COO, CFO, sales rep, headhunter, janitor. they work with founders they like — people with passion, humility, and grit who are building something urgent, necessary, and often unexpected.

Elementum Ventures

ReGen backs founders daring to build the companies that will restore our planet.

ReGen Ventures

Climate Capital is an investment firm that supports companies that directly or indirectly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate Capital

Safar Partners is a seed- to growth-stage venture fund investing primarily in technology companies out of MIT, Harvard, and the University of Rochester. We invest in platform technologies in the cleantech and advanced materials, AI/IT and robotics, and life science/medical device areas.

Safar Partners

Exceptional Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs and businesses that improve people's lives. Founded in 2022 and is based in London, England.

Exceptional Ventures

Circe

Circe grows their food through fermentation. Using the right fats they make food people want to eat and use CO2 as a feedstock to scale production in an economically viable and climate-friendly way.

Circe Bioscience, spun out of the Wyss Institute at Harvard in 2021, is a biotechnology startup specializing in carbon-negative manufacturing. The company has developed a proprietary gas fermentation platform that can produce a wide range of organic molecules, such as tailored fats and oils, using genetically engineered microbes, CO2, water, and electricity.

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Alternative Ingredients

CIRCE Scientific has raised 1.7 million Euros

Circe Bioscience, spun out of the Wyss Institute at Harvard in 2021, is a biotechnology startup specializing in carbon-negative manufacturing. The company has developed a proprietary gas fermentation platform that can produce a wide range of organic molecules, such as tailored fats and oils, using genetically engineered microbes, CO2, water, and electricity.The company's patented process mimics the biochemical pathway used by plants to fix CO2, enabling its microbes to consume CO2 and produce different types of fats. Moreover, this technology allows for the precise engineering of microbial metabolisms, granting genetic control over the final fat or oil product, enabling the company to manufacture a wide range of fats and oils for various food applications in a scalable manner.

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 California Cultured is a producer of cocoa products such as cocoa powder, chocolate, cocoa butter, and flavanols using plant cell culture technology by taking biopsies from selected cacao plants. The company developed its research based on Criollo cacao varieties, fine-tuning cell lines for specific flavors. In August 2022, the company announced that it was working on the development of cell-cultured coffee.
 
 
 As of December 2022, the company was building its 12,100 sq m facility in West Sacramento and had begun building its pilot plant. As of July 2023, the company was finalizing production methods, with the aim of a commercial launch by 2025&ndash;2026, following FDA approval.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 2022, California Cultured partnered with VTT, a Finnish national research institute, to develop cell lines for cell-cultured coffee. 
 &nbsp;In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates">
 February 2023
 </a>
 , the company inked a 10-year commercial partnership with Japanese chocolate corporation Meiji to incorporate its cell-based cocoa into Meiji's products. This collaboration marked the first global use of cell-cultured chocolate.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 California Cultured received undisclosed investments from investment platforms focused on clean, lab-grown food such as CULT Food Science (February 2022) and Blue Horizon (March 2022). In October 2021, the company raised USD 4 million in seed funding led by Agronomics to expand its R&amp;D activities.
 
 
 
 .
 
</div>

California Cultured

Nukoko is a UK-based company that produces 100% cocoa-free chocolate peanuts made from locally sourced fava beans using a biotransformation and precision fermentation process. It also uses a microbial library of cocoa flavors to match chocolate in terms of flavor, thickness, and texture.As of October 2023, the company had opened a limited product launch and sold out the first batch of cocoa-free chocolate nuts, with a full launch planned for 2025 for the EU/UK markets as a B2B ingredients supplier. The company claims to produce 90% less carbon emission per kg than conventional chocolate&nbsp;and its chocolate alternatives contain 40% less sugar and higher protein, fiber, and antioxidants than traditional chocolate.&nbsp;

Nukoko

<div>
 
 Win-Win (WNWN Food Labs prior to 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27014">
 February 2024
 </a>
 ) is a London-based producer of cocoa-free chocolate using plant-based ingredients such as grains/cereals and legumes through a proprietary fermentation process. The company's cocoa-free chocolate can be used in candy bars, confectionery, cookies, chocolate coatings, ice cream, and beverages. It claims to use 90% less water and emit 80%&ndash;90% less greenhouse gases than regular chocolate.
 
 
 In May 2022, Win-Win was operating on a lab scale, capable of producing between 300kg and 600 kg (~661 and 1,323 lbs) of chocolate per month. In November 2022, the company began expanding its facility in Hackney Wick, increasing its production space 8x. In November 2023, the company expanded its plant-based milk chocolate to bakeries, foodservice, confectionery groups, and CPG/FMCG companies 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24144">
 worldwide
 </a>
 .
 
 
 The company had previously introduced limited-edition cocoa-free products via D2C channels: dark chocolate thins at GBP 10 (~USD 13) per box (May 2022) and the Waim! Bar priced at GBP 8 (~USD 9) for a pack of three bars (September 2022). In March 2023, the company finalized the recipe and process for a line of milk chocolate products that are cocoa- and dairy-free and contain both oats and tiger nuts. The company also experimented with an alternative chocolate ice cream bar at the H&auml;agen-Dazs Start-Up Innovation Challenge in June 2023.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In September 2023, Win-Win partnered with the UK department store Fortnum &amp; Mason to showcase its cocoa-free chocolate and technology, including a demonstration and tasting during Fortnum's Harvest Week. In December 2022, the company partnered with Milan-based luxury gift service DLISH to include its specialty chocolate hazelnut gianduja, a northern Italian confection, in DLISH's holiday gifts. In December 2023, the company completed the 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24805">
 CoLab Tech accelerator
 </a>
 with Mondelēz International and showcased its cocoa-free chocolate bars, truffles, and coated biscuits at Mondelēz's North American headquarters.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In February 2023, Win-Win raised GBP 4.5 million (~USD 5.6 million) in Series A funding to scale up manufacturing and increase headcount in anticipation of its UK retail launch.
 
 
 
</div>

Win-Win

<div>
 
 Planet A Foods is a Germany-based startup that makes cocoa-free chocolate ChoViva (formerly NoCoa/QOA) via precision fermentation of oats and sunflower seeds. It then uses proprietary micro-bacteria and flavor formation processes to create a vegan product that mimics the texture and flavor of chocolate. In addition to Germany, ChoViva focuses on Austria and Switzerland, with expansion plans to the US in 2024.
 
 
 Planet A Foods produces cocoa-free chocolates by blending cocoa-free ingredients: a cocoa powder substitute (ChoViva Concentrate) and a cocoa butter substitute (ChoViva Butter). ChoViva represents Planet Foods' debut cocoa-free chocolate product, created using Planet A Foods' cocoa concentrate alternative. The chocolate is produced in-house at Planet A&rsquo;s facility in the Czech Republic. As of October 2023, the ChoViva range included 21 products with prices ranging from EUR 0.5 to EUR 9.95 (~USD 0.53 to USD 10.48).
 
 
 Additionally, the company was in the process of developing its cocoa butter alternative through precision fermentation technology, using single-cell oils and fermentation byproducts. As of October 2023, the company was shipping this fat to early customers for R&amp;D purposes.
 
 
 The company asserts that its chocolate product could be 10x more sustainable, 20% cheaper, and emit about 92% less than conventional chocolate while also using 30% less sugar and 94% less water.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In April 2023, the company partnered with German online retailer Confiserie Seidl to launch ChoViva, its first sustainable chocolate line. The brand sees itself as a B2B player, after partnering with oat cereal maker K&ouml;lln on a new line of vegan mueslis using the company's cocoa-free chocolate in September 2023. In December 2023, ChoViva teamed up with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24997">
 Lindt
 </a>
 to launch a special edition chocolate bar for Veganuary, named &quot;Soft &amp; Creamy Hazelnut.
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26955">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , Planet A Foods partnered with REWE Group, Germany&rsquo;s second-largest supermarket chain, to supply ChoViva for REWE Group&rsquo;s own-label cocoa-free products.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In its latest funding round in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26176">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , the company raised USD 15.4 million in Series A funding led by World Fund, with participation from Omnes Capital, Cherry Ventures, Nucleus Capital, and others. The funds were earmarked for additional scientist hires to bolster its 50-person team in Germany to increase the production of cocoa butter and palm oil alternatives on an industrial scale.
 
 
 
</div>

Planet A Foods

<div>
 
 Atomo Coffee is a developer of beanless coffee that comes in two flavors: 1) regular beanless coffee with 100 mg of caffeine per serving made from date seeds, ramon seeds, sunflower seed extract, pea protein, millet, lemon, guava, and defatted fenugreek seeds and 2) decaffeinated (decaf) beanless coffee. The company claims to be the world's first beanless coffee maker.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s products are available for retail purchase at 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23234">
 Gumption Coffee
 </a>
 in New York. In addition, the company began taking pre-orders for wholesale at a price of USD 20.99 per pound (as of October 2023).
 
 
 The company also plans to open a facility in March 2024 that can annually produce four million lbs of ground coffee, made from upcycled date pits (~80 million cups).
 
 
 Atomo's brews reportedly use 94% less water and produce 93% less carbon emissions than traditional coffee.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In July 2022, the company partnered with Minor Figures, a vegan products company, to launch the 8-ounce canned Oat Milk Latte, a beanless cold brew, one of Atomo's first focus products.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In June 2022, the company raised USD 40 million in a Series A funding round for product development and to scale up manufacturing. In November 2023, the company secured an undisclosed multi-million dollar investment from Japanese beverage leader 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24577">
 Suntory Holdings
 </a>
 to strengthen its international distribution.
 
 
 
</div>

Atomo Coffee

Companies providing technology related to fortification, cell culture, and fermentation and those supplying equipment including bioreactors and fermenters for the production of novel foods

Companies offering salt substitutes to reduce sodium content in foods and beverages

Companies developing natural sweeteners and solutions to reduce sugar content in foods and beverages

Companies creating natural flavor, texture, and coloring ingredients from plant-based sources like seaweed and algae

Companies producing chocolate without cocoa using ingredients like oats, seeds, and cell-cultured cocoa

Companies making coffee substitutes from ingredients like barley, date seeds, and sunflower seeds

Companies offering plant-based alternatives to honey and nut spreads, addressing dietary restrictions and allergies

Companies producing cooking oils and fats through fermentation, cell-cultured and plant-based extraction processes

Companies developing protein ingredients via cell-culture or fermentation for dietary supplements and food production, excluding plant-based or cell-cultured meat

Transforms raw materials into novel, sustainable food products with minimal environmental impact

<div>
 Circe, a carbon-negative manufacturing firm, has successfully secured USD 5 million in seed funding from several investors such as ReGen Ventures, Undeterred Capital, Ponderosa Ventures, Bee Partners, Exceptional Ventures, Climate Capital, and Safar Partners. The total funding raised by the company now stands at USD 14.5 million, with USD 5.5 million coming from non-dilutive sources.
 This recent funding will be used to back the installation and running exercises of Circe's pilot plant located in Waltham, Massachusetts. These initiates will allow the company to extend beyond the lab-scale proof of concept and commence the production of carbon-negative molecules at a significantly greater scale.
 Emphasizing on its unique gas fermentation technology, Circe consumes 3 kg of CO2 to produce every 1 kg of oil. This technology enables a carbon-negative manufacturing process. As of now, the company is concentrated on manufacturing fats and oils with potential usage in industries such as food, cosmetics, and biofuels.
 
</div>

Circe

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