New Crop Capital is a specialized private venture capital fund. We invest in talented, focused entrepreneurs whose products or services replace foods derived from conventional animal agriculture, which we view as an antiquated and inefficient food production system with serious vulnerabilities. The meat, egg, and dairy sectors represent a $700 billion global market that is ripe for innovation and large-scale disruption.

New Crop Capital

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

Seier Capital is a private seed and venture capital that caters to companies across diverse industries.

Seier Capital

PHW Group German company that produces and markets poultry specialties, such as chicken, turkey and duck, under the brand name of WIESENHOF. Its other business sectors include animal feed and animal health, human nutrition and human healthcare in a Group consisting of over 35 independent firms. The international activities of the PHW Group are very diverse. Its success results from its determination to put scientific expertise to practical use and its constant quest for innovation. The responsible and sustainable shaping of the future is and remains our guiding principle.

PHW Group

Backbone Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Zurich and Frankfurt am Main. Founded in 2018, Backbone has a track record of 28 investments with already three successful exits so far. With a pioneering investment- and a strong ecosystem approach, Backbone’s mission is to achieve a positive impact for the next generation by supporting outstanding entrepreneurs to reach new levels of success and to become the trusted partner for founders and investors in pre-seed/seed venture capital in Germany and Switzerland.

BackBone Ventures

Starlight is a venture capital firm for founders addressing the world’s most pressing challenges & opportunities. We partner early with unstoppable entrepreneurs leveraging breakthrough science and technology to pursue progress at scale in four main areas: the energy transition, industrializing synthetic biology, space technology, and novel computing & communications platforms. Starlight was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Starlight Ventures

Blue Horizon Corporation is an investment firm that invests in companies and businesses in the agriculture and food processing sector. The firm also partners with farmers, food producers, and distribution chains. It was founded in 2016 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Plant based, food tech,

Blue Horizon Corporation

Good Seed is a venture capital firm dedicated to enabling the production of safe and nutritious food for a growing population. We leverage our capital and industry specific knowledge to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system. Creating value-adding partnerships that support groundbreaking food entrepreneurs is what we thrive for. Our ambition is to foster the development and commercialisation of industry transforming food solutions so that everyone has access to delicious and healthy food.

Good Seed Ventures

Unovis Asset Management is the global leader in the alternative protein sector.  Their investment firm partners with entrepreneurs developing innovative plant-based and cultivated replacements to animal products, including meat, seafood, dairy, and eggs. Through our inaugural and world-renowned fund, New Crop Capital Trust, and now The Alternative ProteinFund, their goal is to transform the global food system by investing in solutions that facilitate sustained behavioral change and eliminate the consumption of animal protein products.

Unovis Asset Management

Beyond Impact Advisors is created to facilitate investment in products and services that are either inherently vegan in nature or are cruelty-free and remove mankind’s reliance on the raising of animals for slaughter. Beyond Impact’s core investment thesis centers on sustainability as a pillar of risk management and economic valuation. Due to the heavy environmental impact, the use of animals is inherently unsustainable and alternatives need to be found and funded. Coinciding with this we are seeing an accelerating societal shift in favour of vegan, cruelty-free and plant-based alternatives, based on the environmental imperative, health concerns and compassion for animals. As such, Beyond Impact targets significantly impactful companies which have positioned their products and services to meet this growing demand, favouring those with clear technological advantages and whose products outstrip the qualities of the animal-derived material they replace.

Beyond Impact

SuperMeat

SuperMeat is an Israeli bio-tech and food-tech company, developing a technology to create clean meat from chicken cells in a safe and controlled environment, external to the animal’s body. SuperMeat is set to revolutionize the meat industry from its core, aspiring to secure a better future for humans and animals alike. Clean meat is grown in a controlled, sterile environment without the use of antibiotics and without any possibility of fecal contamination, such as salmonella. Clean meat will require significantly less resources for its production (99% less land, 90% less water), making it both a healthy and sustainable food source for the coming century.

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.

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

SuperMeat Claims Cost Breakthrough for Cultured Chicken

Bell Food Group

SuperMeat partnered with Migros to accelerate the commercial scale production and distribution of cultivated meat. This partnership, backed by Migros' investment, aims to meet European consumer demand for sustainable and efficient alternative proteins​​.

A new wave of meat, fish, and poultry alternatives are driving this hyper-growth industry into the mainstream

Plant-based Meat

Producers of plant-based chicken, turkey, and duck alternatives using plant proteins such as peas, soy, wheat, etc. Products are manufactured mostly in nuggets or shredded form

PHW, has strategically partnered with cultured meat start-up supermeat on R&D and the distribution of its products in Europe.

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

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;

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

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 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>
 Cultivated meat company, SuperMeat, can produce 100% cultivated chicken at a cost of USD 11.79 per pound, equivalent to the price of premium US pasture-raised chicken. The company is now awaiting regulatory approval after having received a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21733"> Kosher Certification </a> .
 The production process includes a cell growth phase that lasts nine days, followed by a 45-day harvesting period. It uses embryonic stem cells to create muscle and fat tissues, with fat grown in 24 hours and muscle cells in four days. This process does not only need 80% less land than regular chicken farming but also has the capacity to produce three pounds of meat in two days.
 SuperMeat states that their technology can annually produce 6.7 million pounds of chicken, which is equivalent to 2.7 million chickens at an industrial scale. It promises a product that matches the cost, taste, and texture of premium chicken while being more sustainable and humane than traditional farming methods.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Cost parity is one of the leading roadblocks to the commercial launch of cultivated meats, along with other factors like taste and texture. This breakthrough will be crucial for commercializing SuperMeat's cultivated chicken products as well as expanding its current partnerships with <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/9319"> PHW </a> , <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/8997"> Ajinomoto </a> , and <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/11867"> Migros </a> .

SuperMeat

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless