Ambrosia Collective to Launch Protein Powder Made From Solar Foods’ Air-Based Protein in the US
Solar Foods, the Finnish producer of air-based protein, has received an order from US-based sports nutrition and health supplement brand Ambrosia Collective. Ambrosia plans to launch a ready-to-mix protein powder made from Solar Foods’ Solein® protein in the US. The product will be sold under Ambrosia’s Planta brand, and will be one of the first Solein-powered protein powder products available to consumers anywhere in the world. Ambrosia develops and produces …
Aqua Cultured Foods Shuts Down After Five Years Developing Fermented Seafood Alternatives
Chicago-based startup Aqua Cultured Foods has officially shut down operations, marking the end of a five-year effort to commercialize whole-cut seafood alternatives produced through biomass fermentation. Co-founded in 2020 by Brittany Chibe and Anne Shaeffer, Aqua developed a proprietary fermentation process that converted cellulose into high-fidelity, fish-free seafood analogs. The startup focused on producing raw-style filets intended to replicate tuna and scallops in appearance and texture, targeting both fine dining …
BlueNalu Secures $11M in Financing to Advance Commercialization of Cultivated Bluefin Tuna Toro
BlueNalu, a US-based producer of cultivated seafood, has announced new convertible note and preferred stock financings. The round was led by Agronomics, Siddhi Capital, and Lewis & Clark AgriFood, with participation from around 40 other existing investors. Through the insider-led financing, BlueNalu has secured approximately $11 million in cash and stock proceeds. The capital will be used to support the market entry of BlueNalu’s cultivated bluefin tuna toro, once this …
Illinois Ranks Third in US for Alternative Protein Companies, Report Finds
A newly released report from the Illinois Alternative Protein Innovation Task Force outlines a multi-sector plan to expand the state’s role in alternative protein production, citing benefits across economic development, public health, and agricultural diversification. The report is the result of a two-year review led by the task force formed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2023, described as the first of its kind at the state level in the United …
Cultivated Meat Company Believer Meats Ceases Operations
Cultivated meat producer Believer Meats has announced that it is ceasing operations after “two years of building something truly bold and special”. The news was shared on LinkedIn by Anne Schubert, Global Vice President of Talent & Human Resources at Believer Meats. She said the move had been a “difficult decision” and “not what any of us hoped for”, but did not reveal why the company was closing down. The …
Pow.Bio Partners With Bühler to Offer an Integrated Continuous Precision Fermentation Platform
Pow.Bio has announced that it is teaming up with Bühler Group to bring an integrated continuous precision fermentation platform to market. The collaboration will work to advance industrial biomanufacturing by accelerating process development, reducing unit production costs, and improving operation performance. Traditional fermentation processes rely on batch or fed-batch processes, which require the tank to be emptied and cleaned between runs. However, the new partnership combines advanced model-driven control software …
Oobli Launches GRAS-Certified Protein Sweetener to Combat Sugar Overconsumption
Oobli, a company based in Davis, California, has unveiled a new natural sweetener derived from proteins rather than carbohydrates. The product, which mimics the taste of sugar, is the first of its kind to receive GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) certification for commercial use. It offers a potential solution to the growing concerns over excessive sugar consumption and its associated health risks, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Fighting …
UPSIDE Foods Returns to Court to Challenge Florida’s Cultivated Meat Ban
In August of last year, cultivated chicken producer UPSIDE Foods joined forces with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit against Florida’s cultivated meat ban. As reported by Courthouse News Service, UPSIDE claims that Florida cannot impose limits on interstate trade due to the US Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The company says only the federal government can regulate poultry products under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). In April of …
EVERY Company Secures $55 Million to Scale Production of Animal-Free Egg Proteins
The EVERY Company has secured $55 million in a Series D funding round. This funding will support the company’s expansion into the US market as it scales up its production of precision-fermented egg proteins. The round was led by McWin Capital Partners, with participation from a range of investors including Main Sequence, Bloom8, and Minerva Foods. EVERY’s fermentation-based technology has gained significant attention as an alternative to traditional egg proteins. …
Seed Funding Round Nets Atlantic Fish Co. $1.2M for Whitefish Cultivation Tech
Atlantic Fish Co. (AFC) has closed a $1.2 million seed financing round. The investment was led by Katapult Ocean, Alwyn Capital, DMV Capital, and the Georgetown Angel Investment Network (GAIN), with additional participation from other mission-aligned investors. The company also received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), further contributing to the funding round. AFC’s total funding to date now stands at $2.3 million. …