Meatiply, a Singapore-based cultivated meat startup, has reportedly raised $3.75 million in the first close of a seed funding round co-led by previous investor Wavemaker Partners and AgFunder with participation from Seeds Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore ( a government agency).
According to Benjamin Chua, co-founder and COO of Meatiply, the company is one of the few cultivated meat startups to raise seed funding this year. Despite the challenging conditions in climate investment, a second close is scheduled for Q1 2024. In 2022, the biotech secured $1 million in a pre-seed; with this round, the total raised capital amounts to $4.75 million.
Meatiply will commence operations at a new facility next year. With the newly raised capital, it will expand its R&D capabilities and scale production to co-develop products with commercial partners before a commercial launch planned for 2026.
Hybrid products with benefits
Meatiply was established in 2021 by four researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star): Dr. Elwin Tan, Dr. Jason Chua, Dr. Benjamin Chua, and Prof. Teh Bin Tean.
Meatiply uses specialized muscle cell regeneration technology to cultivate different cells to produce fats, skin, or muscle (value-added compounds) to create cultivated meat products with specific benefits. The company says it formulates its growth media, adapting it to its different cell platforms.
In 2021, the company unveiled in Singapore three structured prototypes as its first proof of concept: kampong chicken yakitori, chicken katsu bites, and a smoked duck breast prototype.
The products were created from a “specific blend” of plant-based components and a high percentage of different meat cells grown separately and then formed into each product.
This “separate” approach allows Meatiply to customize its cultivated meat products and also to expand into the functional ingredients market with fats, skin or collagen allowing manufacturers to develop hybrid products with enhanced properties.
Paul Santos, Managing Partner at Wavemaker Partners, commented: “While the challenge of meeting product launch deadlines persists for many companies, the Meatiply team has demonstrated the ability to achieve meaningful results within shorter timeframes and with considerably less funding.”
