The world's first cultured meat pilot production facility will be constructed in south of Tel Aviv
Cross-section of grilled cultured chicken (bottom) compared to farmed chicken (top) (Credit: Future Meat Technologies)
Israeli start-up Future Meat Technologies has secured $14m funds, which will be used to expand its R&D activities and construct cultured meat pilot production facility.
The company has secured Series A funding under the round led by S2G Ventures and Emerald Technology. Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto, UK-based venture capital firm Manta Ray Ventures and Chinese food and agriculture tech VC Bits x Bites are the other investors who participated in the financing round.
Established in 2018, Future Meat Technologies is focusing on the production of cost-efficient and GMO-free production of meat directly from animal cells.
Future Meat will launch hybrid products at a competitive cost level from its pilot production facility by 2021
The company will construct the world’s first cultured meat pilot production facility in the south of Tel Aviv. The plant is expected to commence operations in 2020.
Future Meat Technologies CEO Rom Kshuk said: “With this investment, we’re thrilled to bring cultured meat from the lab to the factory floor and begin working with our industrial partners to bring our product to market.
“We’re not only developing a global network of investors and advisors with expertise across the meat and ingredient supply chains, but also providing the company with sufficient runway to achieve commercially viable production costs within the next two years.”
The company’s advanced process uses rapid growth of connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts to reach high densities before converting the cells to cultured muscle and healthy fats.
Future Meat plans to launch hybrid products by combining plant proteins for texture and cultured fats for aroma and flavour of meat.
The company intends to launch its hybrid products at a competitive cost level, as the current small-scale production costs $150 per pound of chicken and $200 per pound of beef. It aims to introduce a second line of 100% cultured meat products at a cost of less than $10 per pound by 2022.
Future Meat Technologies founder and chief scientist Prof Yaakov Nahmias said: “I personally want to make sure my children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the same meat dishes that I grew up with.
“The worldwide demand for protein is growing exponentially, and the only way to meet this demand is by fundamentally reinventing animal agriculture. Future Meat Technologies created a cost-effective solution for cultured meat manufacturing that is scalable and sustainable by design.”