Impossible Foods, a US-based meat substitute developer backed by internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, completed a $200m series G round led by hedge fund Coatue Management yesterday.
Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek, hedge fund XN and Mirae Asset Global Investments, the asset management arm of financial services group Mirae Asset Financial, also took part in the round.
The round increased the company’s valuation from $3.6bn to more than $4bn, according to data analytics firm Prime Unicorn Index.
Founded in 2011, Impossible Foods markets gluten-free meat substitutes bioengineered from plants. They contain no animal hormones, antibiotics or cholesterol and the technology is based on research by founder and chief executive Patrick Brown, when he was a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University.
The series G funding comes after Impossible Foods expanded its presence from 150 stores in March this year to more than 8,000 stores across the United States today.
The company has launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce portal in the US and its burgers and sausages are available internationally in tens of thousands of restaurants including Burger King and Hard Rock Café.
The funding will allow Impossible Foods to grow its product and research development activities, bolster its manufacturing capabilities, further increase its retail presence and expand its international operations.
Impossible Foods said it has now raised $1.5bn to date. Alphabet subsidiary GV participated in the company’s $75m series C round in 2014 together with Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures and entrepreneur Bill Gates.
Financial services firm UBS led a $108m series D round the following year, with contributions from Viking Global Investors as well as Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Gates, the three then joining Temasek and Open Philanthropy Project in a $75m round in 2017.
Horizons Ventures and Temasek co-led Impossible Foods’ $300m series E round in May 2019, participating alongside a range of private investors. It added $500m in a March 2020 series F round led by Mirae Asset Global Investments and backed by Temasek, Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures and various individuals.
Photo courtesy of Impossible Foods.
