Aqua-Spark is an investment fund with a focus on sustainable aquaculture businesses around the world. The small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) they invest in are working toward the production of safe, accessible aquatic life, such as fish, shellfish and plants, in ways that do not harm their oceans. Their investors value the fact that each investment aims to create triple impact—specifically, each investment is chosen for its potential to generate significant financial returns while also activating positive environmental and social outcomes.  Aqua-Spark believes that committing to a long-term vision is the way to realize effective and lasting impact results. When it comes to investments, they do not seek quick exits; instead, they look for entrepreneurs who strive to build and scale toward the future, who see their business as major economic opportunities that can also help solve looming environmental and food security challenges over the long-term. As an essential of each investee, Aqua-Spark seeks sustainability.

Aqua Spark

Established in 2006, MoreVC manages over $230M in three funds and has completed more than 25 investments. The founders and teams we partner with strive to create something real, meaningful and with a lasting impact on the world. MoreVC funds are backed by leading institutional investors, multinational corporations and family offices in Europe, Asia, the US and Israel.

MoreVC

Peregrine Ventures is a venture capital fund for cross-stage investments. It is focused on investing in promising e companies with a strong emphasis in the Life Sciences, Digital Health, and Enterprise Software.

Peregrine Ventures

Strauss Group is an international corporation with a portfolio of five companies, which provide a response to two leading world trends – Health & Wellness, and Fun & Indulgence.

Strauss Group

PICO Venture Partners invests in visionary Israeli entrepreneurs building future-defining technologies. These entrepreneurs are relentless in their quest to transform existing markets, industries, business processes, and consumer experiences.  Led by former founders and executives with an execution-driven ethos, PICO leverages its domain expertise, advisor network, collaborative workspaces, and go-to-market channels to support its portfolio companies in every aspect of their growth trajectory. Through close partnership and open dialogue, PICO offers founders the unwavering loyalty they need to succeed.  PICO-backed companies include Vroom (Nasdaq VRM), Spot.io (acquired by NetApp), Gloat, AutoLeadStar, Ment.io, Niio, and others.

PICO Venture Partners

The Kitchen FoodTech Hub is a seed investor and a Technology Incubator focusing on FoodTech. It invests in 3-4 new FoodTech startups each year. During the incubation period the startups benefit from close support from The Kitchen's team and a large range of experts. The Kitchen was established in 2015 by the Strauss-Group, an international food company based in Israel and is a member of the Israeli Innovation Authority incubators' program.

The Kitchen - FoodTech Hub

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

Wanda Fish Technologies

Based in Israel, Wanda Fish Technologies is a cell-cultured seafood startup that offers cultivated fish filets with similar nutrition, taste, and texture to real fish, using a GMO-free platform. Wanda Fish produces its cultivated fish by growing fat and muscle cells in a bioreactor using animal-free growth media.

<div>Based in Israel, Wanda Fish Technologies is a cell-cultured seafood startup that offers cultivated fish filets with similar nutrition, taste, and texture to real fish, using a GMO-free platform. Wanda Fish produces its cultivated fish by growing fat and muscle cells in a bioreactor using animal-free growth media.&nbsp;</div>

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

Wanda Fish Technologies Raises $7M To Revolutionize The Way We Produce And Consume Bluefin Tuna

<div>
 
 Based in Israel, Wanda Fish Technologies is a cell-cultured seafood startup that offers cultivated fish filets with similar nutrition, taste, and texture to real fish, using a GMO-free platform. Wanda Fish produces its cultivated fish by growing fat and muscle cells in a bioreactor using animal-free growth media.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The company has established R&amp;D facilities in the US and Israel, where it aims to develop its manufacturing platform. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29599">
 May 2024
 </a>
 , the company unveiled its first bluefin tuna toro sashimi prototype. Developed as an alternative to raw toro in sashimi, this product was produced by combining bluefin tuna muscle and fat cells with a plant-based matrix, resulting in a 3D filet.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9432">
 March 2022
 </a>
 , Wanda Fish signed two agreements with Tufts University to accelerate the former&rsquo;s cultured seafood production, which included gaining exclusive rights to intellectual property on fish cell cultivation developed by David Kaplan, a leading Tufts University researcher in the field of cellular agriculture.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s latest funding round was in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22540">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , when it raised USD 7 million in seed funding led by Aqua-Spark, with participation from The Kitchen Hub, Peregrine Ventures, and others. The funds were earmarked for optimizing its technology and expediting the scalability of its cultivated bluefin tuna prototype.
 
</div>

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

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 Wanda Fish, an Israeli firm specializing in cell-based seafood, has unveiled its first cell-cultivated bluefin tuna toro sashimi prototype. This is created through the fusion of bluefin tuna muscle and fat cells with a plant-based matrix, resulting in a 3-dimensional filet.
 The product was designed as an alternative to raw toro in sashimi, featuring similar content of protein and omega-3 fatty acids as its traditional counterpart. Encouragingly, this innovation not only mimics the look of bluefin tuna, but also its mouthfeel, owing to the inclusion of comparable fat marbling quantities.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 This development follows the company’s latest funding round in <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/22540"> October 2023 </a> , which raised USD 7 million in seed funding. The company aims to target the high-end foodservice market with this cultivated product, as bluefin tuna is considered a marine delicacy, with 1 kg costing upwards of USD 100.

Wanda Fish Technologies

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