Paris-based Standing Ovation has closed a $34.2 million Series B round as it prepares to bring its precision fermentation-produced casein to commercial scale, with North America as its first target market.
The round comprises $28.5 million in equity, co-led by Bpifrance’s Ecotechnologies 2 fund under the French government’s France 2030 initiative, and Crédit Mutuel Innovation, with participation from returning and new investors including Danone Ventures. A further $5.7 million in non-dilutive financing from Bpifrance and a banking syndicate brings the total raise to $34.2 million, following a previous €16 million Series A.
Win-win collaboration
The addition of Danone Ventures to the cap table, alongside existing strategic partner Bel Group, which first invested in 2022, lends significant industry weight to the round. Caroline Sorlin, Chief Venture Officer at Bel Group, described the continued commitment as a “win-win collaboration, blending our historic cheese-making expertise with their cutting-edge technology.”
Turning waste into a premium ingredient
Standing Ovation’s technology upcycles whey permeate, a dairy manufacturing co-product that typically ends up as fertilizer or biogas feedstock, into high-purity casein via precision fermentation. Casein is the most abundant protein in milk and a key ingredient across cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and sports nutrition. The company claims to be the first in the world to produce it at industrial scale through fermentation, and holds eight patent families protecting the process.
According to an ISO-certified life cycle assessment, the approach delivers a 74% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and uses up to three times less water compared to conventionally derived animal casein.
US launch planned for 2026
The company plans to launch its Advanced Casein ingredient in the United States as early as 2026, with Europe and Asia to follow from the end of 2027. Rather than building its own production facilities, Standing Ovation will partner with established fermentation manufacturers.
CEO Yvan Chardonnens and Co-founder Romain Chayot said: “Our ambition is to pioneer a new, circular, and sustainable approach to protein production to meet rapidly growing global demand. By combining technological innovation with the dairy industry’s expertise, we are bridging the gap between the agri-food industry and deep tech.”
