The investment in cultured or lab-processed meat companies continues to roll in with two of the leading players in the space unveiling major new cash injections
Netherlands-based Mosa Meat, which introduced the world’s first cultivated beef hamburger in 2013, has announced the third and last closing of its Series B funding. This third closing of $10m brings the total raised in the round to $85m. Meanwhile, in South Korea CellMEAT has raised US$4.5 million in a pre-Series A financing round. It will use the money to cut its production costs and scale its output.
Mosa Meat also plans to use the funds to extend its current pilot production facility at its home in Maastricht, develop an industrial-sized production line, expand its team, and introduce cultivated beef to consumers.
“We are delighted to extend our collaboration with existing partners, and welcome new partners in this round,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “The closing of Series B funding brings us one step closer to our mission to develop a cleaner, kinder way of making real beef. Our partners bring immense strategic capabilities and expertise, and share our strong commitment to increasing the sustainability of our global food system”.
The company’s products are not available anywhere in the world at the current time. The only place where consumers can buy cultured meat is created by Eat Just and on sale in one outlet in Singapore. Mosa is currently waiting for the EU and the US to regulate cultured meat sales.
CellMEAT is one of the first companies to develop cell-culture method and cell-culturing medium, which does not require the use of non-slaughter-free fetal bovine serum (FBS). Unlike some of their rivals’ products this makes their product suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
CellMEAT CEO Giljun Park says
“In order to produce cost-efficient cultured meat, we need to ensure that our cells can be cultured at a low price. Additionally, further development of our technology is necessary in order to reproduce the physical texture and nature of meat.”
For more on cultured meat, red our interview with investor/author Jim Mellon here.
