Colorado’s Meati Foods has announced a Series B raise of $50 million for its mycelium-based whole cuts of meat created through fermentation, as both mycelium and fermented foods continue to attract the interest of producers and investors as highly sustainable protein solutions for a growing world population.
The round was led by Acre Venture Partners and follows a $28.2 million Series A round from September last year. Formerly branded as Emergy Foods, the company debuted its Meati Steak, that grills and sears like animal steak, in July 2020.
Forbes states that the fresh funds will be partly used to complete construction on an 80,000-square-foot production plant that will reportedly produce the daily equivalent of 4,500 cows in meat made from fungi, with a commercial launch planned for 2022.
According to Startupsavant, Meati is the only public benefit corporation in the alternative protein industry. Its competitors in mycelium meat production include Mushlabs and Atlast, which launched its mushroom bacon in December 2020 and immediately sold all production capacity through to 2023.
“Ultimately, we’re introducing a whole new type of food, a whole new type of protein,” commented Co-founder Tyler Huggins to Forbes.
