The Big Idea Ventures accelerator program has revealed the 15 alt-protein startups in its latest cohort. BIV will make pre-seed investments in the companies through its offices in New York, Singapore, and Paris.
The startups are as follows:
New York
- The Leaf Protein Co. (Australia) — using innovative technology to unlock abundant and highly sustainable protein from leaves.
- Optimized Foods (US) — creating products such as cultivated caviar using the form, function, and structure of mycelium.
- CF Foods Group (US) — developing cultivated CPG goods, starting with premium dog treats.
- Alt Atlas (UK) — sourcing functional ingredients for the alt-protein industry using a machine-learning bioplatform.
- The Mushroom Meat Co (US) — making meat alternatives from mushrooms and upcycled plant proteins.
Singapore
- Kabocha Milk Co. (New Zealand) — award-winning milk alternatives made from kabocha squash.
- Meatless Kingdom (Indonesia) — Indonesian-inspired plant-based meats made with locally-sourced ingredients.
- More Foods (Thailand) — functional plant-based proteins with bioactive ingredients and innovative protein modification technology.
- Pullulo (Singapore) — nutritious, affordable microbial proteins for various food applications.
- UMAMI UNITED (Japan) — Japanese-inspired plant-based food using local ingredients. The company’s first product is the UMAMI EGG, made with konjac powder.
Paris
- Cultivated Biosciences (Switzerland) — using fermentation to develop a creamy fat that can be used in alt-dairy products.
- Genesea (Israel) — highly sustainable and scalable proteins derived from seaweed.
- Mewery (Czech Republic) — cultivated pork produced using microalgae growth factors instead of fetal bovine serum.
- Nutropy (France) — premium French cheeses made with dairy-identical proteins.
- Väcka (Spain) — plant-based cheeses made with traditional fermentation and aging processes.
“Every company in this cohort, regardless of whether they use cell-based, precision fermentation or plant-based approaches, addresses a specific market gap backed by strong technology, a great team, and the Big Idea Ventures corporate and mentor ecosystem,” said Andrew D. Ive, Founder and Managing General Partner of Big Idea Ventures.
