October 5, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Early stage food tech investor and accelerator Big Idea Ventures (BIV) has revealed its latest cohort of 17 early-stage startups chosen to participate in its bi-annual new protein accelerator program. 

With accelerators in New York, Singapore, and now Paris, and headed by managing general partner Andrew Ive, Big Idea Ventures is looking to invest in the best emerging plant-based food, ingredients, and alternative protein startups across three pillars: plant-based food products; plant-based food ingredients and technology; and cell-cultured meats. 

Each of the selected companies in this latest accelerator cohort are receiving pre-Seed funding made through the firm’s New Protein Fund I, which announced its final close in May 2021, when Japanese confectionery brand Meiji Holdings joined as its latest investor.

Today, New Protein Fund I has more than $50 million in AUM. Much of the capital raised is to be used to support BIV’s global accelerators. However, approximately 25 percent of the fund’s capital will be allocated for direct investments in food tech companies, with commitments ranging from $500,000-$2 million. 

The investments made in support of this latest cohort were done so through BIV’s New York, Singapore, and Paris offices:

New York:

“For the 6th cohort working with our New York team, we are excited to welcome a collaborative minded group of founders from diverse backgrounds, spanning multiple countries,” said Caroline Mak, program director, BIV, New York.

“From cultivated fats to manufacturing support, we continue to see trends towards creating technical innovations that we believe will drive and support the ecosystem of alternative proteins as a whole.”

Cultimate Foods (Germany) – a cellular ag company that makes alternative fat ingredients for plant-based meat products. 

Extracellular (UK) – Joins biology, digitalization, and biomanufacturing to produce biomass that can accelerate cultivated meat development. 

Genuine Taste (Canada) – A cell-based ag startup that produces cultivated fat to improve the taste, texture, aroma, and nutrition of alternative protein products. 

NouBio (U.S.) – A biotech company developing sustainable, cost-effective, and animal-free products for scalable cell culture in cultivated meat, cell therapy, and vaccine production businesses. 

Thrilling Foods (U.S.) – Maker and seller of Bakon, a patented bacon alternative made from soy milk that is traditionally salt cured and hardwood smoked, that is being sold on their website and B2B to grocery stores and restaurants. 

Singapore:

“In alignment with Singapore’s development of advanced infrastructure for alternative protein, our 6th cohort spans innovative solutions for both upstream and downstream processes of fermentation and cellular agriculture,” said Dr. Dalal AlGhawas, program director, BIV, Singapore.

“From bioreactors to cell lines and even microcarriers, supporting these auxiliary services will bring us closer to commercialization and price parity.”

ImpacFat (Singapore) – Produced cultivated fat to enhance the flavor, texture, aroma and nutrition of alternative protein products. 

Smart MCs (Australia) – Focused on making texturized cultivated meat a commercially viable food source by providing cell type-specific microcarriers and complementary solutions. 

Dynacyte (Singapore) – Working to expand the reach of biotech by creating smart, modular bioreactors that have IoT, AI, state-of-the-art microelectronics, and wetware incorporated into them. 

Mycosortia (Singapore) – Specializes in turning food side streams unfit for human consumption into edible alternative proteins using microbial consortia fermentation. 

Sono Biosciences (Singapore) – Developing the next generation fish cell culture media free of animal derived growth factors, as well as fish cell lines that are immortal and traceable. 

AIgrow Biosciences (Singapore) – Maker of dairy alternatives from microalgae. 

Paris:

“With our 6th cohort, it is inspiring that we continue to see a strong trend of advanced technical achievements with start-ups that are IP driven,” said Henrietta Hearth, vice president, Big Idea Ventures.

“We have also seen more and more companies focusing on alternative seafood as consumers start to understand the environmental impacts of fish consumption.”

Esencia (Germany) – The first company in Europe making fish and seafood alternatives based on mushroom mycelium, using solid state fermentation.

Loki Foods (Iceland) – Uses 100 percent renewable energy to produce plant-based alternative seafood products.

Food Squared (UK) – A plant-based company formulating whole-cut fish alternatives using novel 3D printing.

Niskus Biotec (Iceland) – Using its scaled up solid state fermentation process to provide food companies a new generation of sustainable functional food ingredients that are nutritious, healthy, and natural.

The Good Pulse Co. (UK) – Developer of natural, functional proteins and ingredients from pulses for use in plant-based foods and supplements.

Shoken (UK) – A gourmet vegan meat manufacturer focusing in deli slices and pizza toppings, such as pepperoni.

“The 17 companies in our latest cohort are all working to solve key challenges in the alternative protein industry today,” said Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner, BIV.

“From new extraction and fermentation methods to AI-enabled micro fluids, connected bioreactors, and cell-based fats, these companies offer compelling solutions to scale production, cut costs and improve both the nutrition and taste profiles of alternative protein products.”

Ive continued, “I encourage investors, corporate leaders, and partners to reach out to the founders of the companies that most excite them and find out more about the innovative technologies and applications they are developing.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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