Memphis Meats successfully completed a Series B funding round raising $160 million. Proceeds will be used to scale-up preliminary laboratory production of cell-cultured meat based on previous funding of $20 million.
According to the company release, investors include Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Threshold Ventures, Cargill, Tyson Foods and others led by the SoftBank Group and Temasek. Dr. Uma Valeti, co-founder and CEO of Memphis Meats stated “we are excited to welcome these investors into our big tent.” She added “Memphis Meats is revolutionizing how meat is brought to every table around the world.”
It is hoped that the investors have carefully evaluated the prospectus for financial and technical feasibility. Overhanging issues relate to regulatory approval, standards and labeling with U.S. jurisdiction split between the USDA and the FDA.
The challenge facing Memphis Meats and other developers of cell-cultured products will be competition from vegetable alternatives that can be classified as vegan and presumably can be marketed at the same price as conventional meat, if not at a lower price. There is no indication that magnitude of scale will reduce the cost from laboratory-cultured samples to anywhere near an acceptable market price. The second unknown is how producers will be able to maintain quality and consistency when extending from laboratories to commercial-scale bioreactors.
Clearly this is a work in progress, but Memphis Meats appears to be a leader in the field, has excellent technology and apparently has the support of investors. The livestock industry looks forward to seeing what $160 million invested brings to the table within a three-year period.
