The Cultivated Meat Landscape: Funding Challenges and Future Prospects

“It is increasingly clear that private funding alone will be insufficient to fully fund first-of-a-kind cultivated meat facilities,” states the Good Food Institute (GFI) in a recent report. The report highlights significant advancements in reducing input costs, yet also acknowledges a severe decline in private funding.

According to GFI, in partnership with Net Zero Insights, cultivated meat and seafood companies raised $139 million last year. Excluding a $55 million investment from Prolific Machines—an optogenetics firm that pivoted from cultivated meat to therapeutics—only $84 million was raised. This shows a stark contrast to previous years: $230 million in 2023, $917 million in 2022, and $1.3 billion in 2021. Over the last decade, barely $3 billion has flowed into this sector, which pales in comparison to the venture capital invested in electric vehicles in just the first three quarters of 2024.

Top Cultivated Meat Funding Rounds in 2024

• $43 million – Mosa Meat (Netherlands – muscle + fat)
• $10 million – Ever After Foods (Israel – bioreactors)
• $8.2 million – Ark (USA – bioreactors)
• $6 million – Simple Planet (South Korea – cultivated meat powder)
• $3.8 million – TissenBioFarm (South Korea – muscle + fat)
• $3.3 million – Innocent Meat (Germany – cultivated meat production system + recombinant proteins)
• $2.7 million – Cellva (Brazil – cultivated fat + plant cell culture)
• $2.6 million – Sallea (Switzerland – edible scaffolds)

The Challenge of Securing Funding

The GFI predicts that investor sentiment is unlikely to return to the high levels of 2021 due to changing economic conditions. “Venture capital is not typically well-suited to fund new facilities,” the GFI advises. This reality pushes companies looking to scale, especially through first-of-a-kind facilities, to explore alternative funding sources.

The recent GFI report, titled Funding the Build, outlines potential strategies such as equipment leasing, strategic partnerships, and engagements with sovereign wealth funds or government programs. However, it asserts that there are “no silver bullets to fill funding gaps in the cultivated meat sector.”

As companies struggle to secure funding, the GFI warns that they may downsize, consolidate, or shut down operations. Currently, their database lists 155 firms focused on cultivated meat and seafood production.

The Role of Public Funding

Despite challenges in the private sector, several governments have invested in cultivated meat research and innovation. Countries like China and India are making large commitments to enhance biotechnology capabilities. Meanwhile, nations like Japan, Singapore, and South Korea are providing funding for both public and private research initiatives.

The FEASTS project, launched by the EU, aims to assess cultivated meat’s role in future food systems, while the UK’s BBSRC and Innovate UK initiated the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre, featuring a £16 million ($21.4 million) public investment.

Additional governmental support has come in various forms, such as Poland’s €2 million ($2.3 million) grant to LabFarm and Brazil’s investment in cell line storage for cultivated meat research.

De-risking Cultivated Meat Technology

For the cultivated meat sector to regain investor confidence, GFI suggests that companies must demonstrate the ability to produce at scale, decrease costs, and show avenues toward profitability. Progress has been made in these areas during 2024, with advancements in cost-effective, animal-free media and new bioreactors designed for scaling cell growth.

However, the landscape remains challenging. The industry is primarily pre-revenue, with only a few products available in limited markets like the US, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The number of consumers who have bought cultivated meat remains in the thousands, in stark contrast to the billions that consume traditional meat worldwide.

Company Progress and Regulatory Approvals

While some prominent companies like GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods have faced setbacks in scaling operations, others are making strides. The latter has pivoted from plans to build a large facility to expanding a smaller site in California. Meanwhile, Believer Meats is making headlines for its ambitious facility in North Carolina, pending regulatory approvals.

In 2024, four new production facilities were inaugurated, including a commercial-scale serum-free growth media facility in the UK and a food-grade cell feed production facility in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Mission Barns showcased innovative bioreactors aimed at improving production efficiency.

Prospects for cultivated meat are not without optimism. Many startups are developing innovative solutions that promise to reduce production costs significantly. As the GFI report notes, promising advancements in continuous production and reusable technologies present a bright outlook for the future.

Regulatory Landscape

Regulatory agencies in the US, Singapore, and Israel have approved several cultivated meat products for human consumption, and further discussions are ongoing in global markets like India and Brazil regarding compliance frameworks for cultivated meat.

Conclusion

The journey of cultivated meat technology is at a critical juncture. While funding challenges persist, innovation and government support offer a glimmer of hope. The next phase will require not just technological advancements but also a concerted effort to build consumer confidence and navigate regulatory landscapes.

Further Reading

• The death of cultivated meat has been greatly exaggerated, says report
• Exclusive: Aleph Farms lands $29m to commercialize lower-cost whole-cut cultivated steak
• Inside the UK cultivated meat regulatory sandbox
• Breaking: Mission Barns secures FDA approval for cultivated fat
• ProFuse Technology expands focus amid GLP-1 drug boom