ImpacFat Nets Deal to Advance Cultivated Fish Fat with AI-Led Ingredient Discovery
Singaporean food tech startup ImpacFat has teamed up with M3triq to use AI-powered ingredient discovery to fast-track the commercialisation of its cultivated omega-3 fish fat.
The convergence of food tech and artificial intelligence (AI) is strengthening by the day, with companies using the latter for a range of applications, from ingredient discovery to process optimisation.
Singaporean startup ImpacFat is the latest to embrace AI, teaming up with Malaysia’s M3triq to support the development and commercial readiness of its cultivated fish fat.
M3triq uses agentic AI technologies to design molecules and discover proteins for next-generation ingredient solutions, and ImpacFat will leverage this expertise to advance a cell-cultured fat rich in omega-3 fatty acids for skincare, supplements, and alternative proteins.
“Our collaboration with M3triq marks an exciting step in combining cutting-edge AI with our proprietary stem-cell platform to advance the future of cultivated fish fat,” ImpacFat co-founder and CEO Mandy Hon said in a LinkedIn post.
ImpacFat taps into AI to speed up production and lower costs
Founded in 2019 by Hon and Shigeki Sugii, ImpacFat’s technology is based on extensive research published by the latter, a stem cell biologist and principal investigator at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star).
The startup isolates cells from premium fish species, such as eels and pangasius catfish, and develops cell lines that enable them to proliferate in controlled bioreactor environments. These mature into healthy fat cells, which are then harvested.
The resulting ingredient is high in unsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, it outperforms wild-caught bluefin tuna on omega-3 levels.
M3triq will deploy its proprietary AI workflow for molecular and ingredient discovery to identify ingredients designed to reduce costs and increase yields for ImpactFat’s cell culture technology.
The goal is to improve process efficiency and enhance the cost-effectiveness of cultivated fish fat production, while maintaining a strong focus on quality, scalability, and industrial relevance.
“By leveraging AI-enabled ingredient discovery, we aim to accelerate innovation, optimise bioprocessing, and bring scalable, sustainable omega-3 solutions closer to commercialisation,” said Hon.
AI partnership has legs beyond food in the long term
ImpacFat is currently producing its fat in five-litre bioreactors and has been working to expand to a 10- to 50-litre scale. Its first foray into the market will be in the personal care sector, where it’s working on stem-cell-conditioned media and exosome-based active ingredients. The firm has previously earmarked a 2026 launch in Singapore and South Korea’s cosmetics markets.
It’s also eyeing the food market by offering its fat for use in hybrid seafood applications, an area where it’s working with Toyo Seikan Group, Esco Aster Singapore, Fuji Oil, and other partners.
Last year, ImpacFat bagged a fresh tranche of funding and expanded into Japan, setting up research and operational infrastructure in Tokyo and planning skincare launches for 2026.
The partnership with M3triq goes beyond fish fat, with the companies hinting at “longer-term relevance” in other biomanufacturing settings, including human biopharma production where similar gains in cell culture efficacy could create meaningful industrial value.
Several other cultivated meat companies have recently diversified beyond food. In the cell-cultured fish world, Singapore’s Umami Bioworks diversified into cosmetics last year (with an initial focus on PDRN), Germany’s Bluu expanded into skincare and health innovations and reached industrial-scale production, and US firm Wildtype launched a marine complex supplement for skincare.
Plus, many cultivated meat startups are now using AI to advance their businesses. France’s Parima has partnered with AI company DeepLife to develop the world’s first avian digital twin and lower production costs. British startup Multus has used the tech to speed up the development of its serum-free media. And Germany’s Innocent Meat leverages AI-equipped bioreactors to make its cultivated pork production more efficient.
“At ImpacFat, we believe the next wave of biotechnology will be driven by the convergence of AI and life sciences,” said Hon. This partnership brings us another step closer to our vision of improving healthspan through transformative innovation.”