Impossible Foods, the US-based plant-based meat producer backed by internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, has entered discussions for a funding round sized at $300m to $400m, Reuters reported yesterday.
The company hopes to increase its most recent valuation of $2bn to between $3bn and $5bn, according to people familiar with the matter. The round could precede an initial public offering as soon as 2020, one of the sources said.
A source told Reuters some of its existing investors had convinced Impossible to target a large round at a higher valuation, but it is unclear whether GV, the Alphabet subsidiary that invested in the company, is involved in the talks.
Founded in 2011, Impossible is working on meat substitutes that rely on soy and potato as their protein element while using a molecule called heme to recreate the flavour of meat and coconut, and sunflower oils to imitate fat.
The company’s plant-based burger (pictured), is sold in supermarkets and more than 15,000 restaurants internationally, including fast-food chain Burger King.
Impossible has disclosed more than $750m in funding to date, though deals database PitchBook puts the figure as high as $777m. It most recently secured $300m in a round co-led by Horizons Ventures and the Singaporean state-owned Temasek in May this year that included more than a dozen celebrity investors.
Temasek and Horizon Ventures previously took part in a $75m round for the company in 2017 alongside Khosla Ventures, Open Philanthropy Project and Bill Gates, co-founder of software provider Microsoft.
Financial services firm UBS led Impossible’s $108m series D round in 2015, with participation from Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Viking Global Investors and Gates.
GV, the early-stage investment subsidiary of Alphabet then known as Google Ventures, backed a $75m round in 2014, revealed when Impossible emerged out of stealth. That round also featured contributions from Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Gates.
Image courtesy of Impossible Foods.
