Standing Ovation Bags $34.2M from Bel, Danone & French Govt to Launch Animal-Free Casein

French precision fermentation startup Standing Ovation has raised €30M ($34.2M) in Series B and non-dilutive funding to commercialise its cow-free casein protein, starting with the US.

The French government and two of the country’s largest dairy companies have made a financial bet on a local startup making animal-free milk a reality.

Paris-based Standing Ovation has secured €25M ($28.5M) in a Series B funding round co-led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation and the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed by state-owned investment bank Bpifrance as part of the France 2030 initiative.

The round also saw participation from existing shareholders Bel Group, Astanor, Seventure Partners, GoodStartUp, and Big Idea Ventures, who were joined by first-time investors Danone Ventures, Angelor, Newtree, and Noshaq.

This investment has been supplemented by €5M ($5.7M) in non-dilutive financing from Bpifrance and a “leading banking syndicate”. Together, the new investments take the six-year-old startup’s total raised to €53M (nearly $60M), and will help it bring its recombinant casein protein to market.

“We have begun commercialisation in the US,” co-founder and managing director Romain Chayot tells Green Queen. “Product development is underway with our clients for a US market launch in 2026-27.”

He adds: “We can target protein-enriched products, which are widely popular, and more sustainable products using our fermentation proteins. Our caseins, unlike beta-lactoglobulin, are the main proteins in milk (80%). They provide the taste, texture, and functionality of dairy products.

“Therefore, they are in demand by all dairy producers, including those who make cheese, yoghurt, milk, ice cream, protein bars, and more.”

Interest from industry giants proves ‘robustness’ of precision fermentation

Standing Ovation uses precision fermentation to reproduce a bioidentical version of casein, the chief form of protein found in dairy. It’s crucial to the taste and functionality of dairy products – for instance, this is the component that makes hard cheeses melt and stretch when heated.

The technology involves inserting a DNA sequence into microbes to teach them to produce casein molecules upon fermentation. “We use many very diverse feedstocks: sweet or acidic whey, milk permeates, beet molasses, sugar cane molasses, [and] starch byproducts,” says Chayot.

“Our fermentation process is able to accommodate different proportions of each feedstock in order to maximise the positive impact of the circular economy model, and derisk our sourcing strategy. The combination of feedstocks does not impact the fermentation process or product output, both in terms of productivity and quality,” he adds.

The startup employs a circular, low-carbon valorisation approach. Last year, it partnered with Bel Group (an investor since 2022) to utilise the acid whey leftover from its cheese production as a feedstock in its process.

Around 80-90% of milk that enters cheese manufacturing facilities ends up as whey. Globally, between 180 and 190 million tonnes of the liquid are produced annually. About half of this waste is processed into added-value products like whey protein, functional foods, edible films and coatings, and lactic acid. A significant amount, however, is left unused.

Standing Ovation and Bel Group have completed initial industrial production cycles that demonstrate the efficacy of the former’s precision fermentation process at scale. Chayot calls it a “win-win solution”, given that its tech relies on waste from the dairy industry and keeps farmers and existing producers at the heart of it all.

“We value the work of farmers, we implement a circular economy, we reduce our production costs, and we further improve our life-cycle assessment,” says Chayot. “The investment from Bel and Danone Venture demonstrates the robustness of this model.”

He adds: “This dual participation by two giants of the dairy industry, combined with strategic partnerships like those with Ajinomoto and Tetra Pak, indicates a form of consensus: our technology is recognised for the quality of our proteins, for our industrial robustness, for our ability to massively produce the major milk protein (casein) that all manufacturers expect.”

Standing Ovation expects US FDA approval by year-end

The capital injection comes as climate change strains dairy supplies, with research suggesting that milk shortages could reach 30 million tonnes by 2030. In fact, extreme heat could cut dairy output by 4% by 2050. France itself faces threats to its milk self-sufficiency in the coming years, according to Standing Ovation.

By using precision fermentation, the startup reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with casein production by 74%, alongside 68% reductions in water consumption and a 99% decline in land use.

Instead of opening its own production facilities, which is an expensive and time-consuming endeavour, Standing Ovation partners with manufacturers that are already experts in fermentation, including Ajinomoto and Tetra Pak.

“We produce with several industrial partners in France and around the world,” says Chayot. “Our current annual production is around one tonne of casein per year, and we anticipate rapid growth.”

It’s initially targeting the US market, where New Culture and Those Vegan Cowboys have obtained self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for precision-ferrmented casein. “We foresee that the ‘no questions’ letter from the Food and Drug Administration will be obtained by the end of 2026,” the Standing Ovation founder says.

“For Europe, regulatory approvals have not yet been obtained as this process takes longer, but we hope for 2027-28. We also have strong demand in Asia,” he adds.

Standing Ovation’s raise comes after a year when funding for fermentation fell by 43.5%. “To achieve such a successful fundraising round, with such prestigious partners, required a perfect alignment of circumstances: the right target (casein is the protein in all dairy products), the right technology recognised by major manufacturers, positive customer feedback, and the right sourcing strategy,” says Chayot.

“Today, there’s a convergence of all stakeholders – financial, academic, commercial, agricultural, and industrial – around the solutions that only Standing Ovation has managed to develop.”

That said, 2026 has already seen several notable funding rounds for precision fermentation companies, including France’s Verley ($38M), Dutch firm Those Vegan Cowboys, and Australian biomanufacturer Cauldron Ferm.