Is a whopping $161m Series B enough cash for Memphis Meats?

There have been a few eye-catching moments, like when Memphis Meats brought to light the world’s first cultured meatball in 2016, and when it heralded the world’s first cultured poultry in 2017. By January 2019, we saw how these sorts of announcements had won over a traditional protein incumbent like Tyson Foods, which duly muscled its way into Memphis Meats’ Series A — joining a celebrity-encrusted list of shareholders . Not quite $250 million… By October 2019, things seemed on course to ratchet up yet another notch, when we got a sizzling scoop .

Memphis Meats, we set out: “is expected to announce a very large Series B deal in the coming weeks, per to several sector sources. Sources say SoftBank is one of the backers negotiating the round with an anticipated close of around $250 million.

Memphis Meats did not respond to requests for comment.” This Wednesday, Memphis at last lifted the lid: it has indeed shut down its Series B financing round, the company verified — but for $161 million, bringing the company’s total backing pulled in to-date to around $180 million. Those milestones, going to the company, are to build out a pilot production facility, triple its team size, and bring products to trade.

The pilot facility, Myrick told reporters, will be “animal agnostic,” capable of alternating between a range of beef and chicken products, able to “feed global demand as it shifts.” SoftBank, he added, would be a key partner in navigating the firm’s Asian growth push. The Asia Pacific region will be home to a rising appetite for protein in the years ahead as populations grow and incomes rise.

Elsewhere in our interview, Myrick in addition described a “clear path” toward competitiveness with conventional meat products, but stated the business does “not want to wait until we’re at cost parity,” adding that it would come to marketplace as a premium rate. At times with a helping hand from hip hop stars like Snoop Dogg, besides, in the growing hype over alternative proteins, the lion’s share of attention and backing is veering toward plant-based meat substitutes, which in many cases have proved easier to bring to trade.

In a statement, Priti Youssef Choksi , a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, seemed prepared to take a longer-term view: “The reality is that conventional production methods for meat can’t keep up with global appetite, which is expected to double by 2050. Cell-based meat addresses this issue while offering enormous potential to improve the environment and have a positive impact on food protection and animal welfare.

Memphis Meats is on a mission to serve up real meat without the compromise.” …a whopper for a cultivated meat business Short of that $90 million or not, this is a whopper for a cultivated meat business, and potentially a sign of a catch-up for cultivated meat versus their plant-based rivals. Before today, a big close meant something in the ballpark of the tens of millions.

BlueNalu’s $20 million Series A in September 2019 stood out; as did Future Meat Technologies with its a $14 million Series A in October last year. “Memphis Meats just more than doubled the total amount invested in all of human history on cultivated meat. Going to Before today, the total invested in cultivated meat firms was $155 million,”, the Good Food Institute executive director Bruce Friedrich, in a statement sent to AFN . “This is still an sector that has sprung up close to overnight and it’s key to keep a sense of perspective here.

While the idea of cultivated meat has been percolating for close to a century, the very first prototype was only produced six years ago. Continued resources will be needed for years to come, including after mainstream commercial entry, to ensure that the cultivated meat sector continues to become more efficient, more adaptable, and produce ever-more compelling products.” Memphis Meats was one of the first, if not the first, cultivated meats startups out there and this funding round certainly extends that early mover advantage. After all, the entire sector stands on the shoulders of the stem cell and biopharmaceutical fields that came before it, which are fueled by decades of both public and private investments.

Public funds can also provide training, fuel talent, and lower the barrier to entry for new businesses and investigation groups.” What do you reckon is the alternative protein that will win the day?