December 19, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Historically, Chicago has been a leading meatpacking center. Now, Clever Carnivore, the city’s first cultivated meat company, has closed on an oversubscribed $7 million Seed round to make a (cultivated) sausage, as it were. 

The round was led by global alternative protein investor Lever VC and included significant backing from both national and international investors including McWin Capital Partners from Spain; Thia Ventures headquartered in Belgium and Switzerland; Valo Ventures from Palo Alto, California; Newfund Capital from France; and Stray Dog Capital, in the Midwest U.S.

“We are delighted with the enthusiastic support from our investors in this seed round,” said Virginia Rangos, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder, Clever Carnivore. “This funding is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team and reaffirms the confidence that investors have in our cutting-edge science, technology, and business model. With this investment, we are well positioned to revolutionize the protein market and enhance the overall consumer experience.”

As a mission-driven biotech startup, Clever Carnivore is deploying cell biology, recombinant protein technology, and advanced bioreactor design to bring to the retail market low-cost, high-quality cultivated pork, beef, and chicken that is identical in the cellular level to farm-raised meat. 

Beginning with a tissue sample from a pig, cow, or chicken, Clever Carnivore’s meat is grown in a production facility similar to a brewery, using a sustainable and efficient process with a significantly smaller carbon footprint than traditional animal agriculture. The result is an identical product that has never seen antibiotics, pathogens, disinfectants, and has no nitrates or highly processed substitutes. 

Aside from the benefits of being a clean product, cultivated meat is estimated to have the ability to reduce land use by up to 95 percent, significantly reduce water pollution from industrial animal farming runoff, reduce climate change-causing emissions by up to 87 percent, and lessen the threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

“We’ve been tracking and investing across the global cultivated meat sector since the first such company launched eight years ago, and we haven’t seen anyone come remotely close to Clever Carnivore’s astoundingly low current cost of production, a testament to the company’s phenomenal science,” said Nick Cooney, managing partner, Lever VC.

“Clever Carnivore’s approach blends breakthrough science and a demonstrated cost advantage in the cultivated meat sector,” added Pierre-Jean Cobut, entrepreneur in residence, Newfund Capital. “I had been wanting to make an investment in the space for a couple of years, and major scientific advantages combined with a stellar founding team and a big vision compelled Newfund to make this investment. We’re excited to back and support Clever Carnivore.”

The company’s R&D division is headed by co-founder and professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Paul Burridge, Ph.D., who has more than 20 years of research experience in cell line development and growth media optimization. 

“Paul’s experience with cell line development and low-cost media, coupled with Clever Carnivore’s cells’ superior growth performance in animal component-free media, places Clever Carnivore in a unique position to rapidly iterate and evolve their production processes and product formulation in a cost- and time-efficient manner,” said Subodh Gupta, partner, Valo Ventures.

The company is currently producing cultivated pork sausage, with plans to launch its prototype product, the Clever Bratwurst, in early 2024. The success of this oversubscribed round will now enable the company to accelerate its expansion strategy, including plans to relocate its Lincoln Park operations to a nearby facility by year’s end. This move will result in the company scaling up to 500-liter bioreactors and adding test kitchens as its rapid early-stage growth has already surpassed the capacity of its first lab. 

“We are convinced that cultivated meat will become an essential part of the food on our plate,” said Bart Van Hooland, managing partner, Thia Ventures. “What was missing up to now was the technology to make products that will provide the same taste and nutrition as meat from farmed animals and at a truly competitive price. Clever Carnivore has what it takes to bridge that gap, and they move very fast.”

~ 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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