The ‘PROFUSE-B8’ bovine myoblasts—muscle progenitor cells—are spontaneously immortalized without the use of genetic engineering.
According to its CEO: “We still have quite a bit of runway as we’ve been very lean. Part of that is because we’ve never invested in large-scale production capacity [in-house] and we’ve never entered the B2C world.”
Phytolon aims to launch natural colors produced by genetically engineered baker’s yeast in the US this year, pending regulatory approvals.
Ayana Bio has signed a deal with Wooree Green Science to develop saffron and other bioactives made via plant cell culture.
Are GLP-1 drugs an ‘existential threat’ to the food industry or an opportunity for some creative thinking?
MFL combines solid state fermentation technology with an AI-driven computational platform to create clean label savory ingredients that give depth, body, and meaty flavors to plant-based foods.
The startup’s enzymatic technology converts up to 80% of the sugars in juice into dietary fibers and non-digestible sugars without impacting the vitamins, minerals and organic acids in the final product.
AgFunderNews head Louisa Burwood-Taylor on the origins of the now much-used term and how the food and ag industries evolved with it.
A spinoff from VTT in Finland, Enifer is targeting human food, petfood, and aquaculture markets with its mycoprotein, produced from a fungal strain first commercialized in the 1970s.
Consumers will look for foods and dietary supplements that naturally mimic the effects of GLP-1 drugs, predicts Bharat Vasan.
MeliBio is rolling out its first products in partnership with Slovenian food maker Narayan in the UK, Switzerland, and Austria in the first part of a $10m deal to reach 75,000 stores across Europe.
Plus… Steakholder Foods unveils a 3D-printed eel, and carbon removal startup Standard Biocarbon secures $5m for a new biochar production facility.
Here are some of highlights (and a few low lights😉) from 2023, plus some areas to watch in 2024, from designer probiotics to livestock methane reduction.
Readers of AgFunderNews were glued to stories on indoor ag, regenerative ag, plant-based and cultivated meat, and an ugly spat between Miyoko’s Creamery and its namesake founder in 2023.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is unsurprisingly top of mind but founders also cite new developments in bioinformatics, plant cell culture and continuous fermentation in our festive vox pop.
As well as taking stock of the best read articles of the year, the AgFunderNews team also wanted to highlight our favourite stories of the year; the articles we’re most proud of and enjoyed reporting the most.
To find out, foodtech editor Elaine Watson fired off a few emails to startups she’s covered on AgFunderNews this year to get a sense of what is disrupting their sleep, with a particular emphasis on the alt protein space.
AgFunderNews catches up with two players in this nascent field: Dr. James Petrie at Australian startup Nourish Ingredients, and Dr. Yulin Lu at US startup Yali Bio.
As part of GROW’s 2024 program, which kicks off in April, 10 founders will receive a $100k cash investment from AgFunder, introductions to its global network of co-investors, and mentorship and support from Singapore-based agrifoodtech accelerator, GROW, over a five-month period.
One of a small, but high-profile group of startups attempting to decouple food production from agricultural land, Solar Foods uses carbon dioxide and hydrogen instead of sugars to feed its bacteria.
