Phytolon aims to launch natural colors produced by genetically engineered baker’s yeast in the US this year, pending regulatory approvals.
The Israeli startup expects products containing its animal-free whey protein to launch in the US within the year.
It also teased “a major CPG partner launch” with its whey from fermentation and said it would unveil “new molecules which will bring the impact of precision fermentation to more products and markets.”
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.
The consortium led by Solar Foods will produce whey proteins from bacteria fed with atmospheric carbon and hydrogen instead of sugar, decoupling production from agricultural land.
A month into his new role as CEO at fungi-fueled startup MycoTechnology, Dr. Mike Leonard caught up with AgFunderNews to talk about his new role.
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.
Liberation Labs has secured a $25m government-backed loan to support its first commercial-scale precision fermentation facility in the US.
Global investment in AgFunder’s ‘Innovative Food’ category (which is dominated by alt proteins) fell by 39% in 2022. However, funding increased by 26% in the Asia-Pacific region. So what should we make of this dynamic?
Precision fermentation might make commercial sense for high-value ingredients such as enzymes or lactoferrin. But what about low-value, high-volume ingredients such as casein proteins?
With Beyond Meat mulling a restructure of its operations in China due to lackluster demand, we caught up with investor Tao Zhang to get his take on the alt protein market opportunity in China.
Economies of scale will drive down the cost of precision fermentation. But advances in titer, productivity, and yield are equally important, says Synonym.
Could the sustainability credentials—and the unit economics— of alt proteins be improved by tapping into ag industry side streams?
Barely a month goes by without a new startup producing ‘animal-free’ dairy proteins via genetically engineered microbes or plants. But what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this nascent space?
Fungi-fueled foodtech co MycoTechnology has launched a Fermentation as a Service (FaaS) platform to help startups secure fermentation capacity in a tight market and enable the Colorado-based firm to generate additional revenue by sweating its assets.
The race is on to replace tropical and animal fats with alternatives boasting superior functionality and a reduced environmental footprint. But will oil-producing microbes ever be a scalable solution?
