Montreal Cell-Based Dairy Company Opalia Closes $3.2M Seed Round with Commercial Pilots Already Underway
Montreal-based Opalia has closed an initial $3.2 million CAD seed round to advance its cell-based milk platform, having already secured paid pre-commercial pilot agreements with several established dairy players before reaching market. The round was led by Nàdarra Ventures, with participation from Spring Capital, UCEED, and Anges Quebec, alongside existing backers Investissement Québec, Cycle Momentum, and BoxOne Ventures. Whole milk without the cow Opalia uses mammary cells cultivated in bioreactors …
California Startup Fermeate Closes $2M Seed Round for Light-Based Fermentation Control Technology
California-based startup Fermeate has raised $2 million in seed funding to scale its optogenetics platform, which uses light signals to control gene expression inside microbial cells during fermentation. The round was led by Newfund Capital, with participation from SOSV and Ajinomoto Group Ventures. The technology inserts light-sensitive proteins into microbial strains, enabling manufacturers to activate or deactivate specific genes in real time. A targeted promoter directs which enzyme or protein …
Standing Ovation Secures $34.2M to Bring Fermentation-Derived Casein to US Market
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 …
Investment Climate Podcast: Del Afonso of Harmony Baby Nutrition Shares How to Get Funded in 2026
In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2026 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through …
Vivici Debuts Precision-Fermented Lactoferrin in the US Market
Dutch precision fermentation specialist Vivici has announced the U.S. launch of its lactoferrin ingredient, Vivitein™ LF. The company will showcase its portfolio of functional protein ingredients at Expo West 2026 in Anaheim. According to a company statement, Vivitein™ offers nutrition innovators a lactoferrin ingredient that overcomes the supply and cost constraints of traditional lactoferrin production: “Vivitein™ LF is produced through precision fermentation, unlocking access to one of dairy’s most valuable …
Verley Secures $38 Million Series A to Commercialize Precision-Fermented Dairy Proteins
French precision fermentation company Verley has secured an oversubscribed $38 million Series A financing round, four years after its inception. The round brings together top European players: new investors, including Alven leading the round, Blast and the French Tech Seed fund managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance as part of France 2030, and historical investors Sofinnova, Sparkfood, Captech and Founders Future. With additional non-dilutive support from Bpifrance, …
YouTube Star MrBeast Visits UPSIDE Foods in New Video With Over 60M Views
MrBeast, a YouTuber with 464 million subscribers, recently paid a visit to California-based cultivated meat producer UPSIDE Foods. UPSIDE appears in a new MrBeast video titled “$1 vs $1,000,000,000 Futuristic Tech!” The video discusses various revolutionary new technologies, including cultivated meat, and has over 60 million views at the time of writing. Viewers can watch as Jimmy Donaldson, the creator behind MrBeast, tours UPSIDE Foods to learn how cultivated chicken …
Revo Foods Applies 3D Structuring Tech to Cultivated Fish in Partnership with Atlantic Fish Co
Atlantic Fish Co and Revo Foods have entered a collaboration to develop hybrid seafood products that combine cultivated whitefish cells with mycoprotein-based structuring technology. The two companies are testing whether mycoprotein matrices can be used as a scalable platform to support cultivated cell integration for whole-cut seafood formats. Atlantic Fish Co, based in North Carolina, has developed proprietary whitefish cell lines and tissue engineering processes. Austrian startup Revo Foods contributes …
UPSIDE Foods Launches New Spinoff Lucius Labs to Commercialize Cell Culture Media
US cultivated meat company UPSIDE Foods has recently launched a spinoff called Lucius Labs. As first reported by AgFunderNews, the new company will create cell culture media for the life sciences industry. In a LinkedIn post, Bob Newman, Chief Scientific Officer at UPSIDE Foods, explained that the company had “developed deep expertise in cell culture media based on extensive work in cultivated meat”. Consequently, UPSIDE has decided to sell cell …
Liberation Bioindustries Restructures Leadership as Indiana Facility Nears Completion
Liberation Bioindustries has restructured its executive team, with co-founder Etan Bendheim stepping into the role of Chief Executive Officer, while fellow co-founder Mark Warner transitions to Chief Technology Officer. The change comes as the company approaches the operational launch of its first commercial-scale precision fermentation plant in Richmond, Indiana. Technical focus takes priority Warner, who previously served as CEO, will now focus on technical execution and infrastructure development. “This transition …