US-based seafood products developer BlueNalu has picked up $60m of convertible note financing from investors including food ingredient supplier Rich Products, seafood product manufacturer Thai Union and crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.
Rage Capital led the transcation, which further attracted Radicle Growth through the Radicle Protein Challenge, a protein-focused accelerator formed in collaboration with agriculture services provider Syngenta.
Agronomics, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, McWin, Siddhi Capital, AiiM Partners, Clear Current Capital, CPT Capital, Flat World Partners, KBW Ventures, Losa Group, Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Stray Dog Ventures also took part, as did unnamed investors.
Founded in 2017, BlueNalu has developed seafood products made from cells that are extracted from fish tissue and grown to the appropriate size in bioreactors.
The company said it will use the new financing to open a 40,000 square foot pilot production facility, conduct marketplace testing and secure regulatory approval for its products.
BlueNalu raised $4.5m in seed funding led by New Crop Capital, with participation from Agronomics Stray Dog Capital, CPT Capital, Clear Current Capital and 21 undisclosed venture capital firms in 2018.
Rich Products’ investment arm Rich Products Ventures joined aquafeed product manufacturer Nutreco, food ingredient developer Griffith Foods, soybean product producer Pulmuone and diversified conglomerate Sumitomo’s US-based subsidiary Sumitomo Corporation of Americas for a $20m series A round in February 2020.
The series A round was co-led by Stray Dog Capital, CPT Capital, New Crop Capital and Clear Current Capital, while KBW Ventures also provided capital.
The company’s other investors include Alwyn Capital, Baleine and Bjorn Capital, Beyond Impact Vegan Partners, Cibus Enterprise Fund, EverHope Capital, Greenwich Estates, ImpactAssets, JVP International Management, Marstar Investments, MCS, MLC50, PWR Capital, SIF AngelList Syndicate, Sustainable Foodies, Tech Coast Angels – San Diego, VegInvest Trust and Berry Family Trust.
Celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi and record producer Axel Hedfors have also backed BlueNalu in the past.