Upside Foods has closed a $400 million Series C funding round. The cultivated meat manufacturer plans to use the investment to build a commercial-scale facility.
The investment round includes traditional animal protein companies, Tyson Foods and Cargill, as well as Singapore’s state-owned investment company Temasek, the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Bill Gates, John Doerr, Kimbal and Christiana Musk and more.
“UPSIDE has reached an historic inflection point, moving from R&D to commercialization. Our team at UPSIDE continues to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in our mission to make our favorite food a force for good. Working in partnership with our world-class coalition of investors, we’re excited to bring delicious, sustainable and humane meat to the consumers around the world,” Upside Foods CEO and founder, Uma Valeti, wrote in a blog post on the company's website.
The new production facility will produce tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat of any animal species in both ground and whole cut formats, with an initial focus on chicken, the company said. An exact location for the facility is still unknown, although it will be in the U.S.
The funding round increases the value of Upside Meats, previously known as Memphis Meats, to more than $1 billion. Upside Meats is one of the better-known cultivated protein companies, having already produced several meat alternative prototypes, including a beef meatball and chicken and duck products.
A history of Tyson’s investment in cultivated meat
Tyson Foods is a long-term investor in Upside Meats.
Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, first invested in the cultivated meat manufacturer in 2018, becoming a minority owner in the food tech startup. Tyson increased its investment in Upside Meats in 2020, joining the cultivated meat company’s $161 million Series B funding round.
In 2021, Tyson Ventures furthered its involvement in cultivated meat by participating in a funding round for Future Meat Technologies.
