US-based edible protein developer Sustainable Bioproducts has collected $33m in a series A round that included the corporate venturing units of food producer Danone and agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland.
The round was led by 1955 Capital and included fellow venture capital firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, investment manager Lauder Partners and the Liebelson family office, while the corporates invested through their Manifesto Ventures and ADM Ventures subsidiaries respectively.
Sustainable Bioproducts is working on a fermentation process that will produce lab-grown edible protein from microscopic organisms that is intended to have the same nutritional value as animal-based meats with comparatively minimal environmental impact.
The company was initially formed as a research project within the US government’s space agency, Nasa, which explored how microorganisms could survive in extreme environments.
Thomas Jonas, co-founder and CEO of Sustainable Bioproducts, said: “By observing how life optimises the use of resources in this challenging environment, we have invented a way to make protein that is radically more efficient and gentler on our planet.”
The company said it had previously received financial support from Nasa, National Science Foundation, National Park Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture, the State of Montana and Montana State University, though it has not disclosed details of past financing.