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

Newfund is a $300M entrepreneurial VC firm dedicated to pre-seed and seed investments in France and North America, in companies driving global change. The company is always looking for founders who are driven to realize a vision that will significantly alter the world in which we live. In order to appreciate what entrepreneurs are creating and utilize their strengths, Newfund aims to comprehend entrepreneurs as unique individuals.

Newfund

Stray Dog Capital provides capital and support to early-stage businesses to help them grow. Stray Dog Capital drives alternatives to the use of animals in the supply chain through investments, expertise, and support. It was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Leawood, Kansas.

Stray Dog Capital

Valo Ventures is a thesis-driven venture capital firm investing in North America and Europe. Our mission is ''investing for a brighter future'' and we do this by focusing on four catalyzing megatrends: climate change, circular economy, autonomy and empowered people. We identify and support entrepreneurs who are applying digital technologies to create long term economic, environmental and social value. Learn more at www.valoventures.org.

Valo Ventures

McWin is a private investment firm that focuses on Food Tech, Life Science, Clean Tech, Mobility Space Tech, Digitalization, and Fintech.

McWin Partners

Thia Ventures is an Early-stage investor in one of the most dynamic and essential fields of current human endeavor.

Thia Ventures

Clever Carnivore

Clever Carnivore is a Chicago-based cultivated meat company built to create cost-competitive offerings using highly optimized cell lines, media, and bioprocesses. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Paul Burridge and Dr. Virginia Rangos, the Company aims to provide accessible, delicious products using modern methods to expand the global supply curve as meat consumption grows worldwide. Currently developing pork products, Clever Carnivore is showing a bratwurst, breakfast sausage, and Italian-style meatball in anticipation of its upcoming Series A raise.

Clever Carnivore is a cell-cultured meat startup that uses stem cell biology, recombinant protein, and bioengineering to create lab-grown meat. The company plans to produce cultivated beef, pork, and chicken at cost-effective prices by using its technology to lower the cost of production. In August 2022, it expanded its operations by opening up a 4,179 sq ft facility in Chicago, housing the company’s new headquarters and lab.

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

Thanks for hosting our team and giving us a taste of your delicious products, Clever Carnivore

Clever Carnivore is a cell-cultured meat startup that uses stem cell biology, recombinant protein, and bioengineering to create lab-grown meat. The company plans to produce cultivated beef, pork, and chicken at cost-effective prices by using its technology to lower the cost of production. In August 2022, it expanded its operations by opening up a 4,179 sq ft facility in Chicago, housing the company’s new headquarters and lab.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24640">December 2023</a>, the company raised USD 7 million in seed funding led by Lever VC, with participation from McWin Capital Partners, Stray Dog Capital, and others. The funds were earmarked for relocating company operations to a larger facility housing 500 l bioreactors and test kitchen spaces.

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

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 Clever Carnivore, a biotech startup based in Chicago, has secured $7 million in seed funding, spearheaded by Lever VC. Additional investment came from McWin Capital Partners, Thia Ventures, Valo Ventures, Newfund Capital, and Stray Dog Capital. The funds will be utilized to move the company's operations to a bigger location equipped with 500-liter bioreactors and test kitchen facilities. Clever Carnivore aims to accelerate its growth plans and further its mission with this expansion.
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Clever Carnivore

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