Cell-based meat, poultry and seafood company Memphis Meats has announced the close of a $161 million funding round, marking the largest funding moment in the history of the cell-based meat industry, and enabling it to bring its products to consumers.
In total, the company has raised more than $180 million. Memphis Meats expects to use the funds to build a pilot production facility, continue to grow its team, and hit a major milestone of launching products into the market. The company has not yet announced a date for product launch, and is working with regulatory agencies to ensure a timely and safe market entry.
The Series B round is led by SoftBank Group, Norwest and Temasek. Also joining the round are new and existing investors including Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Threshold Ventures, Cargill, Tyson Foods, Finistere, Future Ventures, Kimbal Musk, Fifty Years, CPT Capital, KBW Ventures and Vulcan Capital. This round extends the Memphis Meats coalition to Asia, which is a strategically valuable market for cellbased meat and faces significant challenges in meeting growing demand for meat.
“We’re excited to welcome these investors into our Big Tent,” says Uma Valeti, managing director, co-founder and CEO of Memphis Meats. “Memphis Meats is revolutionising how meat is brought to every table around the world. We’re providing compelling and delicious choices by producing real meat from animal cells, its natural building blocks. Cell-based meat is poised to dramatically expand humanity’s capacity to feed a growing global population while preserving our culinary traditions and protecting our planet.”
Priti Youssef Choksi, partner at Norwest Venture Partners, says: “The reality is that conventional production methods for meat can’t keep up with global demand, which is expected to double by 2050. Cell-based meat addresses this issue while offering enormous potential to improve the environment and have a positive impact on food safety and animal welfare. Memphis Meats is on a mission to serve up real meat without the compromise. We’re thrilled to partner with this visionary team.”
Based in Berkeley, CA, Memphis Meats is developing methods to produce meat directly from animal cells, without the need to breed or slaughter animals. The company released the world’s first cell-based meatball in February 2016 and the world’s first cell-based poultry in March 2017.
