Aleph Farms, credited with the world’s first cruelty-free ribeye steak, recently announced the completion of a whopping $105 million Series B funding.
Founded by the food company Strauss Group, research university Technion and food engineer Mr. Didier Toubia, Aleph Farms is revolutionising sustainable meat. It is focused on developing steaks directly from non-genetically modified animal cells.
L Catterton, the global consumer-focused private equity firm, and DisruptAD, one of the biggest venture capital platforms of the Middle East, led the funding round.
The funding was also supported by Skyviews Life Science, and a consortium of leading food and meat companies including BRF, CJ CheilJedang and the Thai Union. Additionally Visvires New Protein, Cargill, Strauss Group, CPT Capital, and Peregrine Ventures participated too, rounding up to over a $118 million.
“We are thrilled to grow our relationships with existing partners, and welcome select new investors in this funding round,” noted Didier Toubia, CEO of Aleph Farms, in a company statement.
“This additional capital from top-tier partners with unparalleled experience and expertise brings us significantly closer to our vision of providing secure and unconditional access to high-quality nutrition to anyone, anytime, anywhere. We see our investors as partners for building this new category of meat and it was critical to us that they share our strong commitment to improving the sustainability of our global food systems.”
In 2018, Aleph Farms announced it had developed the world’s first lab-grown steak made from cow cells and a ribeye steak in February this year.
Aleph Farms will use these funds to execute several large scale commercialisation of sustainable alt-meat solutions and to expand their portfolio. Next phase includes scaling up the manufacturing process and expanding their product lines and technology. The company is now getting their regulatory agencies in place for efficient market entry strategies.
The strategic partnership between DisruptAD and Aleph Farms would help reiterate Abu Dhabi’s focus on food resilience. The investment made would also help in the creation in the manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi for supply to GCC regions and all across UAE.
“Our belief is that the future of food will be built around evolved consumer choices and a redressal of climate concerns, with Aleph playing a central role in shaping this agenda across global markets. We are delighted to partner with them,” stated Mayank Singh of DisruptAD.
