Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Umiami and BlueNalu Announced Among Semifinalists of XPRIZE Foundation Challenge – Feed the Next Billion

28 alt protein innovators from 14 countries have been announced as semifinalists for the next XPRIZE Foundation Challenge – Feed the Next Billion. The multi-year $15 million competition is aimed at reinventing how humanity will feed future generations.

The semifinalist list reads like a “who’s-who” of the plant-based, cell-based, and fermentation-based alt protein sphere, as the startups compete to create a winning structured chicken breast or fish fillet analog that replicates or outperforms their animal-based counterparts.

Chicken breast + whole-cut of cod + nuggets Umiami
©Umiami

Fresh after its €2.3 million funding raise, French private label plant-based meat and fish specialist Umiami was selected, hoping to use its proprietary technology to convince the competition’s panel of judges with its technical submission. Cell-cultured fish pioneer BlueNalu has also been selected, with plans to enter a cell-cultured bluefin tuna fillet, which is also the initial product it anticipates launching in commerce at large scale.

Mycelium-based meat specialist Meati Foods also made the list on the back of its $50 million Series B funding round, as well as alt seafood company Kuleana, the plant-based tuna producer which recently launched in Poké Bar restaurants across North America.

Meati Foods
©Meati Foods

Others on the longlist include cell-cultured salmon producer Wildtype, which recently unveiled its new pilot plant in San Francisco, and Eat Just’s cell-based meat subsidiary GOOD Meat, having recently enjoyed a $170 million funding raise.

“Over the past several years, as our global population continues to grow and the demand for meat products increases, it has become clear that our current global food chain cannot keep up,” commented Caroline Kolta, XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion Program Lead.

“We know we need more nutritious, environmentally-friendly and sustainable alternatives to conventional animal-based products, and that wide scale adoption will require additional innovation continuously being brought to market. I am thrilled about the international cohort of Semifinalists selected to embark on this journey of innovation and exploration to shape a future of food, starting with chicken and fish,” she added.

The full list of teams that have been selected to move forward in the XPRIZE competition:

Air Protein, United States
Another Fish, Canada
Atlast Food Co, United States
BlueNalu, United States
Boston Meats, United States
Brew51, India
CELL AG TECH, Canada
CellX, China
DiverseFarm-Structured Meat, Japan
ENOUGH – NO LIMITS, United Kingdom
GOOD Meat, United States
IntegriCulture, Japan
Kernel Mycofoods, Argentina
Kuleana, United States
MeatOurFuture, South Africa
Meati Foods, United States
MyoWorks, India
Novel Farms, United States
ProFillet, Canada
Revo Foods, Austria
SeaSpire, New Zealand
TFTAK, Estonia
The Better Meat Co, United States
The PlantEat, South Korea
Umami Meats, Singapore
Umiami, France
Whiteboard Foods, Canada
Wildtype, United States

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