Science

China’s Nanjing Weilai and CellX Raise Multiple Millions for Cell-Based

China: the cultivated meat startup previously known as Nanjing Zhouzi has raised CNY 20 million (around USD 3 million) from Matrix Partners China in an angel round, while newly formed CellX has raised an undisclosed amount to accelerate development and production and help move products out of the lab.

According to the Good Food Institute, the current product made by the former resembles minced pork. “The nutritional profile and texture of final products will be customized to meet consumer preferences.”

Cultured meat is in its infancy in China when compared to Israel or the US. “At present, there are already many western and Chinese plant-based products that landed here in China. But cultured meat is not available in the short term due to laws and regulations, technology hurdles, and high-cost,” said Hu Liangyu, an analyst at the Chinese consulting group ChemLinked to KrASIA.”

However, inroads are being quickly made. The GFI notes, “Progress has been swift. By November 2020, Dr. Liu Qing said that the company had significantly increased production efficiency from just a year earlier. Initially, it took 20 days to produce 5g of cultivated pork, but now their team can make 50g in the same amount of time.”

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