Cellular Agriculture: Year in Review 2019

January 2019

To start of the year, Spanish startup Cubiq Foods raised $13.6 million to produce animal-free and healthy animal fats. The large funding round set the pace of investments to come in the field this year.

We also see more states in the US narrowing the definition of meat, a continuing theme from the year before.

February 2019

February 2019 was a big month for investments in the field.

Both Perfect Day and new spinoff Motif FoodWorks raised massive funding rounds. Perfect Day raised over $30 million for their Series B funding round, and Motif FoodWorks announced a $90 million Series A round. 

To date, Motif Foodworks’ funding round is the largest Series A round ever for a foodtech startup.

March 2019

March was a busy month for cellular agriculture

Especially for Shiok Meats. The Singaporean startup shared it was the first cell-based meat company accepted into the Y Combinator program. They also made history by showcasing the first ever cell-based shrimp dumpling.

We also see Wild Earth CEO Ryan Bethencourt pitch their sustainable pet food on Shark Tank and get investment from investor Mark Cuban.

Notably, the USDA and FDA also announced that they have established a basic framework to regulate cell-based meat in the US.

Interestingly, 2  companies released cosmetic products this month. Bolt Threads launched spinoff Eighteen B to produce skincare products with silk, and Geltor announced their latest product: HumaColl21, the first ever human collagen created for cosmetic formulations

Clearly, March 2019 was a remarkable way to end the first quarter of 2019 for the field. It set the rhythm and tempo for the rest of the year.

April 2019

Through new investments, grant funding, and a regulatory hurdle, April 2019 continued cellular agriculture’s strong start to the year into the second quarter of 2019.

Clara Foods, the company working on animal-free egg white proteins, became the second company of the year to announce a Series B round of funding.

Interestingly, biomaterial company AmSilk announced that the company sold its spider silk cosmetics arm to Givaudan, one of the largest cosmetics, flavours, and fragrances companies in the world.

May 2019

Both Aleph Farms and Wild Earth announced their Series A funding in May 2019.

We also see Beyond Meat’s historic IPO for their plant-based meat products. According to Bloomberg, Beyond Meat’s public offering “was the best for a U.S. listing raising at least $200 million since before the 2008 financial crisis.”

CellAgri also launched the first eBook about cellular agriculture. To spread the word about the future of food.

June 2019

In June, cell-based seafood startup Wild Type made history by showcasing the first ever cell-based salmon.

We also see many meat incumbents announcing their own plant-based product lines following Beyond Meat's incredible IPO. 

Plant-based today, cell-based tomorrow?

July 2019

2019 officially became the year where the first cellular agriculture food product became available for consumers.

Perfect Day made history by launching the first animal-free dairy ice cream. The limited release was sold out within hours.

Pet food company Wild Earth also announced the launch of their cultured dog food.

We also see the start of the summer conference circuit with the #NewHarvest2019 conference.

August 2019

In August 2019, several US cell-based meat companies formed a coalition called AMPS Innovation to advocate for the future of food with cellular agriculture.

We also see Motif FoodWorks announce an additional $27.5 million funding in a Series A extension round.

And new startup Vow Food announced itself in a very Australian way: creating cell-based kangaroo meat

September 2019

September 2019 a strong end to the third quarter for cell ag.

Both New Culture Foods and Modern Meadow announced new investments and funding.

Russian scientists also grew cell-based meat for the first time in Russia. In addition, Cellular Agriculture Canada officially launched in Canada.

And we haven't even spoken about the Good Food Conference..

During the Good Food Conference, Ecovative announced spinoff company Atlast Food Co. to use mushroom mycelium to develop scaffolding for the emerging industry.

But that wasn't the only word going around...

Cultured meat, clean meat, cell-based meat, and now…cultivated meat.  The Good Food Institute and Mattson shared their market research at the conference proposing a new term for meat grown directly from cells.

Will this be the term the field uses in the new year?

October 2019

Cellular agriculture went to a new frontier. Outer space.

Aleph Farms grew the first piece of cell-based meat on the International Space Station. The international collaboration included 3D Bioprinting Solutions, Finless Foods, and Meal Source Technologies.

Along with that, Future Meat Technologies and Wild Type announced that they raised their Series A rounds. Wild Type became the first cell-based seafood company to announce a Series A funding round.

Hong Kong-based Avant Meats also highlighted the versatility of cellular agriculture by showcasing their cell-based fish maw prototype.

November 2019

With new investments, product announcements, and partnerships, November 2019 was another busy month for cell ag. The field continued to push ahead to make the our future of food more sustainable.

Perfect Day announced plans to start developing animal-free milk fats. 

BlueNalu launched the educational platform EatBlue, and CellulaREvolution raised funding to change how cells are grown with their bioreactor system.

December 2019

This December illustrated what an incredible year 2019 had been for cellular agriculture

With 5 different funding announcements, from a European government grant for Peace of Meat to the largest funding round yet for a cell ag company by Perfect Day, the field continues to expand globally.

New startups Legendairy Foods and Bond Pets also announced their seed funding rounds while Meatable announced additional funding in their seed round.

To end the year, BlueNalu showcased the first ever cell-based yellowtail amberjack fish meat meal. Throughout 2019, many cell-based seafood startups showcased their prototypes to highlight the diverse range of foods that can be from their products.

Co-founders of both Clara Foods and Shiok Meats were also recognized as innovative entrepreneurs for their work to change the future of food.

After an incredible 2019, what will 2020 bring for cellular agriculture?