Wild Earth, a US-based vegan dog food producer backed by pet products manufacturer Mars Petcare, has closed an $11m series A round led by venture capital firm VegInvest .
The round also featured private equity firm Vectr, VC firm M Ventures and investment funds Bits x Bites and POV.
Wild Earth is working on dog food made from an environmentally-friendly fungus that contains all essential ingredients to maintain health. It plans to release its dry food in the second half of 2019 and will use the funding to work towards that goal.
Wild Earth has raised $16m in funding to date. Mars Petcare and Michelson Found Animals Foundation invested $200,000 in the company in August 2018 in connection with a strategic partnership.
The company’s earlier investors include Stray Dog Capital, Felicis Ventures and Blue Horizon, as well as Peter Thiel and Pathfinder, the early-stage investment arm of Founders Fund, which jointly provided $450,000 in July 2018.
Angel investor Mark Cuban paid $500,000 for a 5% stake in Wild Earth in March 2019 through his Radical Investments vehicle when its founder pitched the product on television show Shark Tank. VegInvest was listed as a returning investor in the series A round.
