Extracellular, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the cultivated meat industry based in the UK, announces it has secured new funding from various investors, bringing its total of raised funds to over $1.9 million.
The CDMO will use the capital to meet its goal as a global leader and development partner for biomanufacturing cultivated meat at scale. The company already operates 200L bioreactors at its research labs at Science Creates in Bristol, announcing plans to expand its capacity by installing bioreactors larger than 1,000L.
Vegan impact investor Alex Payne said: “In the race to get cellular agriculture products on grocery store shelves, Extracellular has identified a crucial need for scalable, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturing processes. I expect that their expertise will be a key differentiator for some of the most successful companies in this growing space.”
Mission-aligned investors
According to Vevolution — the leading investment platform for plant-based and cultivated meat startups — Will Milligan, the founder and CEO of Extracellular, sourced new investors Silla Scheepens of Future Food Fund, Newland Syndicate, and angel investor Alex Payne through its platform.
“Vevolution helped us find mission-aligned investors who care about the same things we do, creating a more sustainable and ethical way of feeding the 8 billion people on the planet,” said Milligan.
Extracellular’s recent funding includes more than $1.2 million in advanced subscriptions, ahead of a planned equity financing in 2023. In addition, the company has secured $700 thousand in non-dilutive funding.
In October of 2022, the CDMO secured investment from Big Ideas Ventures after being chosen as one of seventeen early-stage startups selected for pre-seed investment as part of its bi-annual new protein accelerator program. Other investors backing Extracellular include Unruly Capital, Tiny VC, and Good Startup.
Experience in biomanufacturing
Extracellular offers services to support the developing, manufacturing, and further commercial requirements of any cellular agriculture-derived product. The company provides tailor-made process development for any cell line, helps startups optimise their growth media to achieve lower costs, and identifies the proper infrastructure a company needs to scale up its production process.
Silla Scheepens of Future Food Fund said: “We were very impressed by Will and his team of bright minds. Extracellular comes with great experience in biomanufacturing, bringing innovative practices and dedicated research to the table, delivering cost-effective and sustainable processes at scale for partners. Very excited to see what they will add to the acceleration of cultivated meat.”
