Singapore-based food tech company Umami Meats has secured USD 2.4 million (EUR 2.2 million) from its pre-seed funding round to expand its cultivated seafood offerings.
The funds will be used to improve the company’s low-cost, scalable production system for cultivating fish by building production-ready cell lines from various fish species, it said in a press release.
The round was co-led by venture capital firms Better Bite Ventures and Genedant, and included Cult Food Science, Impact Venture, Katapult Ocean, Plug and Play Ventures, Prithvi Ventures, The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, and Venture for America.
“We are delighted to have partnered with this group of like-minded investors who share our vision for sustainable seafood. Seafood is a USD 180 billion [EUR 166 billion] industry faced with growing global demand and supply that is increasingly volatile and under threat from climate change, overfishing, and ocean pollutants,” Umami Meats Founder and CEO Mihir Pershad said. “Our investors’ commitment to a safer, healthier, and more sustainable food system, combined with deep industry knowledge in agri-food and alternative proteins, will be a valuable resource in establishing cultivated seafood as a viable, sustainable solution to the growing demand for seafood while reducing pressures on ocean ecosystems.”
In a strategic partnership announced in December 2021, Cult Food Science said it would invest in boosting Umami’s capacity in bringing down production costs, making lower-cost growth serum, and building out product lines. Umami Meats’ first product lines will include Japanese eel, red snapper, and yellowfin tuna, and subsequent development rounds will include halibut, grouper and mahi, according to Green Queen.
Another Singapore-based start-up, Shiok Meats, closed a bridge funding round in July 2021 that will pay for an advanced production facility. Shiok Meats, which was founded in 2018, launched cell-based shrimp and lobster prototypes in 2019 and 2020, respectively, and has raised USD 30 million (EUR 27.7 million).
The company claims to be the first cell-based seafood and meat company in Southeast Asia and the first cell-based crustacean producer in the world. It is seeking to commercialize production cell-based shrimp, lobster, crab, and crayfish while avoiding any negative impact on animals or the oceans.
Photo courtesy of Umami Meats
