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>>> Meati secures $50 million to scale mycelium-based meats

Meati Foods fungi-based steak alternative


Food Business News

07.08.2021

By Sam Danley


https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/19047-meati-secures-50-million-to-scale-mycelium-based-meats


BOULDER, COLO. — Meati Foods, a maker of fungi-based meat alternatives, raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by BOND and Acre Venture Partners, with participation from Prelude Ventures, Congruent Ventures and Tao Capital.

Co-founded by Justin Whiteley and Tyler Huggins, Meati creates nutrient dense meats using mycelium, the muscular root structure of fungi, as its single main ingredient. The startup grows its own unique strain of fast-growing mycelium and forms its fibrous texture into whole-cut products without chemicals or processing. At scale, the patented process can produce the meat equivalent to 4,500 cows every 24 hours and requires less than 1% of the water and land compared to conventional industrial meat production.

The company currently is in the final stages of developing whole cut takes on chicken breast, steak and jerky and plans to explore other products, including pork tenderloin and deli meats, in the future.

Funds from the Series B round will help build out Meati’s newest “urban ranch” production facility, which will have the capacity to produce millions of pounds of whole-cut alternative meat at scale by 2022. The company also plans to double the size of its team, bringing experts from a diverse range of technical, scientific and other fields.

“Our team has been working diligently to build and optimize our ability to grow products in ways that have never been done before,” Mr. Whiteley said. “Meati is on a faster trajectory than we ever expected. We're thrilled to be quickly moving closer to our goal of making Meati accessible to everyone.”

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