SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins the later rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates.  HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

SOSV

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation funded by the N.C. General Assembly to strengthen biotechnology research, business and education statewide. The Center is not a site for laboratory research; it works to support job creation in the biotechnology industry.

North Carolina Biotechnology Center

SFV backs globally early-stage founders building leading Future of Food companies that are: #Cell-based #Plant-based #Recombinant

Sustainable Food Ventures

We help amplify the Georgetown start-up ecosystem with an innovative and inclusive angel investing network that engages and leverages the power of the diverse and global Georgetown alumni community. The Georgetown Angel Investor Network (GAIN) fosters an entrepreneurial relationship with alumni, current faculty and investors. By providing this connection, investors have access to innovative, early-stage companies. Georgetown-affiliated entrepreneurs also benefit from smart capital an mentorship.   GAIN is the only official Georgetown University investor network. The network works in partnership with university-wide entrepreneurial efforts, including the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative (GEI) in the McDonough School of Business. GAIN is an alumni volunteer-run organization affiliated with the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance (GEA) and overseen by the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA). Th network remains committed to the university’s Jesuit values and to the mission of Georgetown University Alumni Association.  Launched in early 2019, GAIN already champions an active alumni investor group and robust deal flow. We are regularly seeking new investors, budding start-ups, and passionate volunteers. Our priority is to support  the Georgetown start-up ecosystem with an angel investing platform that engages and leverages the power of the diverse and global Georgetown alumni community. Ultimately, we hope to serve as a resource to create, deepen, and exchange knowledge.

Georgetown Angel Investor Network

ProVeg Incubator is the world’s leading Incubator of plant-based and cultured food startups. We are shaping the future of food by supporting the companies globally at the forefront of innovation. We offer our programme twice a year and accept around 10-13 startups per cohort.

ProVeg Incubator

Atlantic Fish Company

Atlantic Fish Company is developing cultivated seafood via cellular agriculture and is headquartered in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

Atlantic Fish Co., founded in 2020, is a biotech company specializing in cultivating fish cell lines using proprietary technology. The company's proprietary technology involves cultivating fish cells in bioreactors, using scaffolding to mimic the texture of whole fish filets. It focuses on developing high-performing fish cell lines of wild-caught species like halibut and sea bass, known for their carbon-intensive nature due to trawling techniques. According to the company, its technology enables the development of sustainable and ethical seafood alternatives, free of contaminants like mercury, antibiotics, or microplastics.&nbsp;

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

Atlantic Fish Co., founded in 2020, is a biotech company specializing in cultivating fish cell lines using proprietary technology. The company's proprietary technology involves cultivating fish cells in bioreactors, using scaffolding to mimic the texture of whole fish filets. It focuses on developing high-performing fish cell lines of wild-caught species like halibut and sea bass, known for their carbon-intensive nature due to trawling techniques. According to the company, its technology enables the development of sustainable and ethical seafood alternatives, free of contaminants like mercury, antibiotics, or microplastics.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28404">April 2024</a>, the company unveiled what it claimed to be the first cultivated black sea bass product at a tasting event at the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab.Funding and financialsIn October 2023, the company secured a USD 100,000 small business research loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to aid the development and commercialization of its cultivated seafood. In December 2023, it secured USD 150,000 in pre-seed funding, bringing the total raised by the company to USD 775,000.

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

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 Atlantic Fish Co., a biotech startup specializing in seafood cultivation, has revealed a cultivated black sea bass product, reportedly the first of its kind, at a tasting event held at the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab.
 The unique hybrid black sea bass is produced using the firm's own technology that facilitates the growth of fish cell lines in liquid suspension. This innovation allows the creation of sustainable seafood alternatives that are not only ethical but also devoid of contaminants such as mercury, antibiotics, and microplastics, as stated by the company.
 Established in 2020, Atlantic Fish Co is involved in the cultivation of fish cell lines using proprietary technology. The enterprise puts a strong emphasis on creating efficient fish cell lines from wild-captured species like halibut and sea bass. These types of fish are typically associated with a high carbon footprint due to the trawling methods used to catch them.
</div>
 Analyst QuickTake: 
 Over the past few months, there has been a renewed interest in cultivated seafood products in the cell-cultured meat industry. Most recently, EFISHient Protein developed a <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/28362"> tilapia cell line </a> for creating cultivated tilapia, while earlier this year, Forsea Foods unveiled a cultivated <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25775"> Japanese unagi eel </a> prototype.

Atlantic Fish Company

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