Singapore-based cultivated meat startup, Meatiply has successfully raised US$3.75 million in the first close of its seed funding round.
Meatiply, in a statement, said that the round is co-led by existing investor Wavemaker Partners and AgFunder, with participation from SEEDS Capital, the venture investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.
The new injection of fund will help the company to expand its R&D capabilities and scale up production for more extensive product co-development with commercial partners, with a new facility expected to come online in 2024, two years ahead of a targeted commercial launch in 2026.
Meatiply Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Elwin Tan said, “Despite a more cautious investment climate, we are thrilled that our investors share our vision to leverage Meatiply’ strong upstream capabilities to create complex and functional products that not only justifies the use of animal cells, but also results in significant cost reductions.”
Meatiply Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Dr Jason Chua said, “Our focus on the production of complex value-added compounds using cells will allow us to create cultivated meat products with added health benefits, and this strategic entry point will give consumers more reasons to embrace cultivated technologies. Besides meat, we are also positioned for opportunities to commercialize in the nutraceutical and wellness market.”
Meatiply was founded by stem cell researchers Dr Elwin Tan, Dr Jason Chua, Dr Benjamin Chua, and Prof. Teh Bin Tean in 2021. Meatiply is a cultivated foods company taking a multi-cell type approach in developing complex and nutritive food products. Its scientifically grounded approach utilizes a combination of different cell types (muscle, fat, skin, etc.) to generate natural compounds responsible for the sensory and nutritional qualities of meat and meat products.
Additionally, targeting the production of natural compounds with health benefits allows Meatiply to target the functional foods market.
Since securing a pre-seed round of US$1 million in early 2022, Meatiply has showcased 3 advanced cultivated meat tech prototypes across 3 different species, including Asia’s first cultivated smoked duck breast, incorporating both mature fat and muscle cells from their respective species.
With a focus on nutrition and health benefits, the firm strives to produce ‘functional’ cultivated meat products for the betterment of human health, the environment, and animal welfare. Meatiply claims that it is a frontrunner in terms of its comprehensiveness in approaching cultivated meat development.
Meatiply’ cells can also produce ingredients for use in hybrid products – in value-added conventional food and plant based products.
