Meet the Israeli startups running the global race for cultivated meat

Against a backdrop of complicated regulatory frameworks and scalability challenges, Israel is emerging as a hotbed for cultivated meat startups developing cost-efficient sources of animal-free protein.

2021 was a record year for global venture funding in the sector as cultivated meat startups collected around $1.95 billion across 86 deals, according to PitchBook data. Israel accounted for nearly a quarter of those dollars as startups in the region saw a sudden spike in venture interest.

While 2022 deal activity has not followed a similar pace, the year marks commercial productivity milestones for several such companies based in the region.
   

Here's a guide to the most well-funded Israeli cultivated meat startups, with an update on their latest milestones.
  Future Meat ($390.3M raised to date) Future Meat opened its first industrial cultured meat production facility in Rehovot in June 2021. The company produces cultivated meat from fibroblast cells without the use of animal serum or genetic modification. It landed a $347 million Series B in December and plans to introduce its products to US customers this year.
  Aleph Farms ($113.4M raised) Aleph Farms is known for sharing the first prototype of a lab-grown beef steak in 2018. The company is part of a cultivated meat consortium supported by the Israeli Innovation Authority that includes 14 companies and 10 academic labs. The consortium, which aims to develop cost-competitive methods to produce such food, was granted government funding of $18 million this past April.
  SuperMeat ($79.6M raised) Cultivated meat startup SuperMeat raised $70 million at a more than $226 million valuation this past March, according to PitchBook data. In July, the company signed an agreement with Switzerland-based retailer Migros to produce and distribute products at a commercial scale. SuperMeat is reportedly planning to launch an industrial production plant in the US in a year.
  BioBetter ($16M raised) BioBetter is developing growth factors for cultivated meat operations using tobacco plants as animal-free bioreactors. Last week, the company raised $10 million in a round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners. It plans to scale up production facilities during 2023 and begin sales and supply of food-grade growth factors in Q1 2024, BioBetter CEO Amit Yaari told PitchBook in an email.

Related read: PitchBook Analyst Note: Alt-Protein Industry Advances Despite Costs and Red Tape

Featured image courtesy of SuperMeat

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News