Investments & Finance

Californian Biotech Startup Shiru Makes Waves in Alt Protein, Securing $17M in Series A

Californian biotech startup Shiru has closed a $17 million Series A funding round to develop novel plant-based food ingredients using machine-learning algorithms and precision biofermentation. Shiru’s technology allows food companies to incorporate next-generation plant-based proteins without in-house biotech facilities.

“Shiru’s goal is to make it simple and cost-effective for every food company, from multinational conglomerates to innovative startups, to do the right thing for people and the planet.”

Shiru’s patent-pending discovery platform is set up to produce plant-based alternatives to eggs, meat, dairy, and gelatin, in a fundamentally different manner to conventional plant-based production. Having reverse-engineered the most popular ingredients from the molecular level, Shiru claims to have achieved the same levels of taste, texture, gelation, foaming, emulsification, and binding abilities as animal proteins.

Shiru
CEO and Founder Dr. Jasmin Hume ©Shiru

Founded in 2019 by scientist and engineer Dr. Jasmin Hume, Shiru is developing a range of versatile ingredients to be used in a variety of products that currently require animal-derived proteins, from packaged baked goods to sauces and yogurt. The latest funding round brings Shiru’s total funding to date to over $20 million, with the startup using the investment to build its team of scientists and business developers, as well as scale up production ahead of plans to deliver its first ingredients to global food and CPG companies in 2022.

“The global food industry is well aware of the voracious demand among consumers for sustainable food, as well as the sector’s immense power to help solve our climate crisis,” explained CEO and Founder Dr. Jasmin Hume. “Shiru’s goal is to make it simple and cost-effective for every food company, from multinational conglomerates to innovative startups, to do the right thing for people and the planet.”

 

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