Future Meat Technologies raised $347 million in a series B funding round led by ADM Ventures, part of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., and Tyson Foods Inc. The cultivated meat company plans to use the funding to build a U.S. production facility.
The facility will house stainless steel fermenters to support the rapid, natural proliferation of animal cells. This process is more robust and efficient than other methods used to create cultivated meat and the rejuvenating fermenters can recycle over 70% of the nutrients, according to the press release.
In addition, Future Meat Technologies announced that it can now produce cultivated chicken breast for $7.70 a pound, down from $18 a pound six months ago. The high costs associated with cultivated meat production remain a big barrier to commercialization.
“We are incredibly excited by the massive support of our global network of strategic and financial investors,” said Professor Yaakov Nahmias, founder and president of Future Meat.
“This financing consolidates Future Meat’s position as the leading player in the cultivated meat industry, just three years after our launch. Our singular technology reduced production costs faster than anyone thought possible, paving the way for a massive expansion of operations. Our team will break ground on the first-of-its-kind, large-scale production facility in the United States in 2022.”
The location of the projected large scale production facility is currently unknown, but Boston and Minneapolis are currently forerunners, Nahmias told Bloomberg.
“We’re excited to expand our relationship with Future Meat and expand the universe of new sources of protein to consumers who are increasingly diversifying their diets,” said Ian Pinner, senior vice president of strategy and innovation, ADM.
“Partnerships like these are one of the key ways ADM is creating and capturing new value in growth segments like alternative proteins, and we’re eager to support the Future Meat team in their efforts to continue developing groundbreaking solutions that will provide high-quality and scalable cultivated meat products to consumers in the years to come.”
