New Age Meats, a California-based foodtech startup, has raised $25 million in Series A funding to develop the next generation of animal cell-cultivated meat.
The round was led by South Korean firm Hanwha Solutions with participation from existing investors like SOSV’s IndieBio, TechU Ventures, ff VC, and Siddhi Capital. The new capital brings the total funding raised by the startup since being founded to $32 million. New Age Meats CEO Brian Spears referred to the round’s success by stating:
“Hanwha, more than any other investor, really got our unique approach and that is to understand why our senses light up when we eat meat — then create a sustainable and humane process that delivers this experience in an affordable and widely available way,”
New Age Meat was founded with the mission to make a new type of meat that is not only better for human health but also for the environment and animal warfare. This is achieved by growing meat from animal cells instead of via animal slaughter and combining it with plants for texture, taste, and added health benefits. Spears said about this approach:
“If the pandemic and climate change has underscored anything, it is that the world needs to find dramatically better ways to satisfy the growing demand by billions of people for protein without harming animals or further hurting the environment. We believe our hybrid products, which combine cultured meat with plant-based protein, do just that.”
New Age Meats plans to allocate the new capital to double the size of its workforce and develop a new pilot manufacturing facility in Alameda, as well as accelerate its R&D efforts to improve the taste and quality of its products.
With environmental concerns on the rise and millions of people moving towards animal-cruelty-free alternatives, the foodtech startup is ready to become a major player in the new generation of lab-grown meat.
