Israel-based molecular farming startup PoLoPo has raised USD 1.75 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by FoodLabs, with participation from CPT Capital, Siddhi Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Milk & Honey Ventures, and HackCapital.

The new funds will be used to support PoLoPo’s technology platform, starting with replicating ovalbumin, the protein found in egg white, and to extend its team of scientists and expedite R&D work in order to offer prototypes within the next 18 months, including protein-rich potato tubers and ovalbumin functional samples.

Founded in 2022, PoLoPo’s proprietary technology allows proteins to be expressed in potatoes in a scalable, cost-effective way. The company claims its ovalbumin will be identical to chicken egg ovalbumin in terms of functionality, nutritional value, and protein sequence.

Analyst QuickTake: Ovalbumin is the primary protein found in egg white, making up approximately 55% of the total protein. In January 2022 , Finnish scientists created ovalbumin in powder form using the fungus, Trichoderma reesei ('Tr-OVA'), when developing what was claimed to be the world’s first fungi-based egg white.