In this article, we will take a detailed look at the16 Biggest Lab Grown Meat Companies in 2023with insights into the funds raised by companies. For a quick click 5 Biggest Lab Grown Meat Companies in 2023.
In 2013, scientist Mark Post and his team in the Netherlands introduced to the world the first burger made with lab-grown meat. This unique burger was made from stem cells taken from a cow's shoulder. It took three months to turn these cells into a patty with 20,000 tiny pieces of muscle. This unique burger’s cost was $330,000, and it was not delicious. But since then, scientists have been working hard to make lab-grown meat cheaper and tastier. By 2020, Mark Post's team had made significant progress. They lowered the cost of their lab-made burger to just $11 per patty. Other companies also use this technology. For example, Memphis Meats in San Francisco makes meatballs, chicken, and duck. They start with cells from animals and grow muscle tissue in layers inside bioreactors.
The cultivated meat industry made significant progress in 2022, with advances in science, innovation, talent, and public and private sector support. New companies, production facilities, and partnerships were formed, and a cultivated chicken product received approval from the US FDA. The lab-grown meat market, valued at $2.3 million in 2021, is projected to reach $960.7 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 80.7%. The growing demand for animal cruelty-free products, fueled by environmental and animal welfare concerns, drives the market's growth. Moreover, cultivated meat startups raised a record $1.95 billion in 86 deals globally in 2021, with Israel accounting for nearly a quarter of that funding.
On the other hand, the growing global popularity of meat consumption places added pressure on conventional meat sources. This challenge could be alleviated through the widespread production of cultured meat. Daily meat consumption is depicted concerning the projected EU average of 165 grams per person in 2030. Lab-grown meat is poised to revolutionize the food industry, with the potential to provide billions of pounds of meat annually by 2030. Production costs have been reduced by 99% since the prototypes.
Market Segmentation of the Worldwide Lab-Grown Meat Industry
According to the New York Times, California has emerged as a hub for innovation and investment in the lab-grown meat industry, featuring a fertile ecosystem of startups and research institutions. Upside Foods partners with chef Dominique Crenn to serve lab-grown chicken at her San Francisco restaurant, Bar Crenn. Good Meat, based in Alameda, plans to sell cultivated chicken to chef José Andrés for use at his restaurant China Chilcano.
Food Solutions Action, a nonprofit organization, has emerged to influence lawmakers through campaign contributions and seasoned lobbyists, facilitating the regulatory approval and taxpayer support of lab-grown and plant-based products. This coalition, along with five other companies and advocacy groups connected to cultivated meat, has collectively spent over $3.7 million on lobbying efforts since 2021. However, this falls short of the substantial lobbying budgets of industry giants like Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN) and Cargill.
Furthermore, in 2021, Eat Just enlisted Torrey Advisory Group, a leading agricultural lobbying firm, allocating $210,000 to lobbyists with expertise in Senate Agriculture Committee and USDA matters. Upside Foods, approved to sell cell-based chicken to restaurants, doubled its lobbying expenses between 2019 and 2022. Meanwhile, Finless Foods, a cell-cultivated seafood company, entered the lobbying arena in 2020, spending nearly $300,000 in 2022.
Additionally, newcomers like Believer Meats, an Israeli-cultivated meat company, initiated their lobbying efforts this year. In 2021, MeaTech 3D Ltd. (NASDAQ:MITC), an Israeli cultured meat company, acquired its Belgian subsidiary, Peace of Meat (PoM), known for lab-created meat components. According to Forbes, in late 2021, PoM achieved a milestone by producing 700 grams of chicken fat biomass in one cycle. MeaTech 3D Ltd. (NASDAQ:MITC) is establishing a pilot plant to scale up biomass production.
Furthermore, MeaTech 3D Ltd. (NASDAQ:MITC) plans to set up four to five global factories by 2025, aiming for an annual output of 560 tons. The company is also expanding its collaboration with the Dutch mycoprotein startup ENOUGH to integrate chicken biomass into their plant-based matrix.
Another primary playmaker in the lab-grown meat industry is Agronomics Limited (OCTNKTS:AGNMF), with a market cap of $114 million. Agronomics Limited (OTCMKTS:AGNMF), a leading listed venture capital firm focused on cellular agriculture, has announced that its portfolio company, SuperMeat The Essence of Meat Ltd, has met Kosher standards for its chicken cell line. Kosher standards are a set of dietary guidelines based on Jewish law. This is a significant milestone for the industry, as it is the first time cultivated poultry has been recognized as Kosher. Agronomics Limited (OTCMKTS:AGNMF) has invested US$ 12.5 million in SuperMeat, representing 7.8% equity ownership on a fully diluted basis. This equates to 9.3% of the last published Net Asset Value (30.06.23) of Agronomics Limited (OTCMKTS:AGNMF), including post-balance sheet adjustments.
We sourced data from Venture Radar for the16 Biggest Lab Grown Meat Companies in 2023. This source has listed the companies based on the most recent funding rounds for lab-grown meat.
While lab-grown meat is yet to be publicly available in restaurants, the data on its sales or revenue is, therefore, unavailable. However, we can find data on the funds raised by lab-grown meat companies, which can be used to rank them. Companies that can raise more funds will likely be more successful in developing and commercializing lab-grown meat.
In our list, we have listed the 16 Biggest Lab Grown Meat Companies in 2023 in ascending order of the funds raised by the companies.
Biggest Lab Grown Meat Companies in 2023
16. Core Biogenesis
Funds Raised (USD Millions): 10.5
Core Biogenesis, a plant-based bioproduction company, has secured $10.5 million in funding to build a facility in Strasbourg, France. The facility will produce growth factors and cytokines for cell therapy and cellular agriculture. Core Biogenesis's technology platform uses Camelina sativa oilseed plants to express recombinant proteins. The company is focused on developing next-generation therapeutic modalities, such as cell therapies, which are currently expensive and complex to produce.
15. Shiok Meats
Funds Raised (USD Millions): 12.6
Singapore's Shiok Meats launches cell-based shrimp meat at USD 37/kg. Swiss cultivated meat producer Mirai Foods and Shiok Meats subsidiary Gaia Foods have partnered to develop cultivated beef products in Singapore. The partnership will exchange know-how and supplies to bring cultivated beef to Singapore.
14. Mission Barns
Funds Raised (USD Million): 24
Mission Barns is a California-based food technology company that produces lab-grown meat. The company uses a proprietary process to grow meat cells in a controlled environment. Mission Barns announces partnership with Silva Sausage, expands pilot production facility, and discusses collaborations with food companies and retailers. Early investors boosted their stake in Mission Barns, a lab-grown meat company that partnered with global meat and alternative protein leaders in 2021.
13. Air Protein
Funds Raised (USD Million): 32
Californian startup Air Protein uses microbes to turn recycled CO2 from factories into meat alternatives. Air Meat in solar and wind-powered bioreactors. Air Protein's process is particularly innovative because it uses CO2 captured from factories rather than from the atmosphere. This helps to reduce the company's environmental impact, as it does not need to release any new CO2 into the atmosphere. In addition to its focus on sustainability, Air Protein invests heavily in research and development. ADM and Air Protein partner to develop new proteins for nutrition, including the world's first Air Protein commercial-scale plant.
12. Blue Nalu
Funds Raised (USD Millions): 33.5
BlueNalu, a recently established cell-based seafood startup, unveiled its commercialization strategy and facility design plans for large-scale food production via cellular agriculture. The strategy initiates with research and development alongside small-scale pilot testing, gradually progressing to market research and a 150,000-square-foot food production facility. The company is in the initial phase, creating whole seafood medallions and fillets on a pilot scale. However, they project an annual production capacity of 18 million pounds of finished seafood at each production facility. BlueNalu has collaborated with 25 venture capital firms and individuals from the US, U.K., Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and Israel.
11. Finless Foods
Funds Raised (USD Million): 34
Finless Foods, a pioneer in cell-cultured seafood, is emerging as a significant player in the cultured meat industry. Founded in 2017, the California-based startup is developing bluefin tuna from cells. This feat has eluded other companies due to the fish's complex biology and the economic constraints of traditional farming. The company had cut production costs by 50% in 9 months, achieving price parity with traditional bluefin tuna in 2019.
10. Meatable
Funds Raised (USD Million): 35
Meatable, a leading player in the cultured meat industry, is at the forefront of developing sustainable and ethical meat alternatives. In July 2023, Mosa Meat and Meatable announced a landmark agreement with the Dutch government to conduct pre-approval tastings of cultivated meat and seafood in the Netherlands. This makes the Netherlands the first country in the European Union to allow tastings of food grown directly from animal cells before it has been approved as a novel food by the EU. The agreement follows the Dutch government's commitment of €60 million to build a robust cellular agriculture ecosystem.
9. Bit Bio (fka Elpis Biomed)
Funds Raised (USD Millions): 41.5
Bit Bio is a synthetic biology company that is developing cultured meat products. Bit Bio has partnered with several other companies to advance its refined meat development efforts. In 2023, Bit Bio announced a partnership with Mekonos, a company that is developing a platform for non-viral cell engineering. The association aims to create new ways to deliver gene editing tools to cultured meat cells. Bit Bio collaborates with Charles River Laboratories, a leading contract research organization. The collaboration is focused on developing and scaling up Bit Bio's cultured meat production processes.
8. Daiz Inc.
Funds Raised (USD Million): 47
Daiz is a soybean-based meat cultured producer focused on developing sustainable and affordable alternatives. DAIZ's MIRACLE MEAT, made with the Ochiai Germination Method, offers a nutritious and tasty alternative to traditional meat production, supporting SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Guided by SDGs 13 and 15 on climate action and life on land, DAIZ is pursuing new products to replace traditional, environmentally damaging protein sources.
7. Atlast Food Co.
Funds Raised (USD Million): 49
Atlast Food Co. is a cultured meat producer with a team of experienced scientists and engineers working to develop new ways to produce cultured meat at scale and cost. Atlast is a unique cultured meat company that uses mushroom mycelium to create whole-cut meat alternatives, unlike the ground varieties most companies produce. Its MyBacon product has been well-received in the Albany, NY, area since its launch, and Atlast is partnering with major brands to bring MyBacon to market at scale.
6. Mosa Meat
Funds Raised (USD Million): 85
Mosa Meat is a Dutch lab-grown meat company founded as a spin-off from Maastricht University, and the two organizations continue to collaborate closely on research and development. A global leader in animal nutrition, Nutreco is working with Mosa Meat to develop sustainable and affordable feed for its lab-grown meat cells. In 2022, Mosa Meat announced the expansion of its industrial-scale production facilities in the Netherlands, creating what it claims is the largest cultured meat campus in the world at 77,000 square feet.
