California’s New Age Meats Announces US$2M Seed Extension For Hybrid Cultivated & Plant-Based Meat

California-based New Age Meats (NAM) recently raised US$2 million in a seed extension round to scale the production of the brand’s hybrid cultivated and plant-based meat.

Located in Berkley, California, the cell-based startup, New Age Meats (NAM) secured US$2 million in a round that saw participation from Litani Ventures’ Peter Rahal, ff VC, SOSV, and Innovating Capital, as well as new investments by San Diego Tech Coast Angels, BeniVC, Oceanic Partners, Deep Ventures, and Climate Capital.

This amount adds to the funds already raised in a post-seed round last year amounting to a total of US$7M and NAM is also looking forward to raising more funds in a Series A round scheduled to happen soon.

According to a press release, NAM said that the round was led by ‘a very large, significant industry player’ in Asia, keeping the name confidential.

NAM uses automation and data science to create cell-based meat, growing meat from animal cells instead of other conventional meats that practice animal cruelty. It then adds plant-based components for taste, texture, and nutritional profile. At the moment, the brand is working with the IndieBio accelerator program, of which NAM is a graduate, developing delicious, healthy pork sausage and dumplings.

Ultimately, we will fail if our products are too expensive and low volume to be served anywhere but luxury restaurants,. We’ve focused relentlessly on driving down the cost and scaling production of our product: hybrid cultivated and plant-based meat that doesn’t sacrifice on flavor. We want to make the world a better place by making the better decisions easy. We are well on our way to bringing that vision to market after our upcoming Series A

Brian Spears, CEO of NAM

Brian Spears, CEO of NAM mentioned that the funding would help make cell-based meat accessible for all. “Ultimately, we will fail if our products are too expensive and low volume to be served anywhere but luxury restaurants. We’ve focused relentlessly on driving down the cost and scaling production of our product: hybrid cultivated and plant-based meat that doesn’t sacrifice on flavor. We want to make the world a better place by making better decisions easy. We are well on our way to bringing that vision to market after our upcoming Series A.”

The company claims that its pork products imitate the taste, smell, and texture of conventional pork better than any product that is available in the market.

Spears added that as they continue to ramp up to market, they strategically brought on investors aligned with the company’s short and long-term growth. “This round includes a very large, significant industry player in Asia who for now must remain confidential. Additionally, Peter Rahal’s Litani Ventures has joined. His experience with RXBAR, from founding to exit, is invaluable as we navigate to become the largest meat company in the world.”

This new funding will also allow NAM to expand its team which already includes former staffers from Impossible Foods.

Data suggests that compared to conventional meat, clean meat has the potential to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 78-96%, along with using 99% less land and 82-96% less water and that’s why cell-based food innovation is having a moment around the world with several new companies popping up.

For instance, Novameat, the Spanish food tech has recently created what they call the ‘world’s biggest cell-based meat prototype‘. In January, Chef Shimamura Masaharu of Michelin-starred Osaka restaurant Unkaka debuted DiverseFarm, in a partnership with Tokyo-based cellular agriculture company TissueByNet to combine culinary experience with science and design a menu filled with cultured meat delicacies.

Joes Future Food, a Mainland Chinese cultivated meat startup secured 20 million RMB (US$3 million) in funding to strengthen its R&D in order to improve its current offering, cultivated minced pork. 

Recently, in a world-first, Singapore has given regulatory approval for the commercial sale of cultured meat made by Eat Just, a San Francisco food tech.

Lead image courtesy of New Age Meats.