Pluri Secures $6.5 Million Investment and Acquires Majority Stake in Cell-Based Cacao Producer Kokomodo
Biotechnology firm Pluri Inc., a company specializing in cell-based technology, has announced a $6.5 million private investment led by global investor Alejandro Weinstein. As part of the transaction, Weinstein will join Pluri’s Board of Directors. Concurrently, the company is acquiring a 71% stake in Israeli AgTech firm Kokomodo Ltd., which focuses on cultivated cacao production, for $4.5 million in common shares. The proceeds from the investment will be used to …
Chocolate Giant Puratos Makes Strategic Investment in California Cultured’s Cell-Based Cacao
California Cultured, a startup pioneering plant cell culture to produce cacao, has received an undisclosed investment from Sparkalis, the food tech venture arm of the Belgian international group Puratos. The new capital will fund the startup’s scaling operations at an upcoming new facility (currently under construction) to bring a cell-based cocoa powder product to the market. Filip Arnaut, managing director of Sparkalis, commented: “At Sparkalis, we seek out visionary startups …
Kokomodo Creates Cultivated Cacao, Preserving Climate-Proof Supplies for the Future of Confectionery
Climate change poses a significant threat to the future supply of cacao (the unprocessed version of cocoa), with the majority of farmland predicted to become unfit for production by 2050. Recent severe weather events have negatively impacted cacao harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s biggest producers, causing significant shortages and high prices. But Kokomodo, a startup leveraging plant cell technology to “cultivate cocoa’s future” aims to ensure a stable, …
Food Brewer Secures Over CHF 5M for Cell Cultured Cacao & Coffee
Food Brewer AG, a biotech startup leveraging plant cell culture headquartered in Campus Horgen, Zurich, Switzerland, has raised over CHF 5 million in a seed round. Various investors, including family offices from Switzerland and the USA, the Zürcher Kantonalbank, and chocolate manufacturer Max Felchlin AG, backed the startup’s biotechnological approach to making alternatives to cocoa, coffee, and sustainable fats. With the new funds, Food Brewer will invest in R&D for its cell lines, expand …