Future Meat Becomes Beneficiary of Biggest Cultivated Meat Investment Ever
Although, only a budding sector, the cultivated meat industry has enjoyed the benevolence of investors in the past few years. Israeli-based firm - Future Meat Technologies has successfully raised €308 million ($347 million) in one of such financing programs. This would be the biggest investment hit so far in the sector and Israel has again made this hit.
Future Meat, like every other cell-based meat company, is a fairly new business startup, with three years of existence to boast of. President and founder of the company, Yaakov Nahmias gave a public statement to disclose the feat. In his statement: "This financing consolidates Future Meat’s position as the leading player in the cultivated meat industry, just three years after our launch..."
Cultivating meat in labs aims to reduce the amount of resources expended in providing viable protein sources for consumption. Also, it eliminates ethical arguments on animal cruelty and the protection of the ecosystem. But then, one of the greatest challenges of the industry has been the lack of adequate funding.
Recently, however, global attention has been drawn to the economical and environmental prospects of cultivated meat products. This has attracted investors and intensified the strength of startups' fundraising events. In 2020, all cultured meat startups. This was six times more than what was obtained in 2019. Interestingly, Future Meat's $347 million fundraise nearly beats this amount.
Several investors have contributed to this giant funding. These include US-based ADM Ventures, UK-based Manta Ray Ventures, and an undisclosed tech investor. According to President Yaakov, the company would be using the funds to erect a large-scale production facility in the US come 2022.
Is Asia the Future of the Lab-Grown Meat Industry?
Like Israel, Singapore is known for quite a number of firsts in the industry. In 2020, it became the first in the world to approve the sale of cultured chicken from Good Meat. Israel on the other hand has recently produced the first lab-grown, yet realistic steak using 3D bioprinting technology.
Singapore's government has notably set a milestone of producing 30% of its food locally by 2030. In a current situation whereby the country is unable to meet its protein needs, cell-based meat production seems a viable alternative. Not just for providing enough meat, but also to help in achieving the 2030 goal.
Just one year after embracing the commercialization of cell-based meat, Singapore has granted another approval to Good Meat for sales of all kinds of cultivated chicken products. The Good Meat Company exists as a part of Eat Just Inc. At Eat Just, the focus is on providing healthier and sustainable food for global consumption.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Asia would become the giant of the cell-based meat sector? With countries like Israel and Singapore leading the forefront, we can only make such projections. At best, we'll watch how this global move all unfolds.
