Berkley, California-based New Age Meats (NAM) has raised another $2 million seed extension round following a previous extension of the same amount last year.
This round was led by “a very large, significant industry player” in Asia that must remain confidential, NAM said in a press release. The round also included participation from Litani Ventures’ Peter Rahal, ff VC, SOSV, and Innovating Capital, as well as new investments by San Diego Tech Coast Angels, BeniVC, Oceanic Partners, Deep Ventures, and Climate Capital.
NAM, a graduate of the IndieBio accelerator program, is currently developing what the company calls “hybrid cultivated and plant-based meat” that for now includes pork sausages and dumplings. Its current process is to grow meat from cells collected from the animal, then adds plant-based elements for additional taste, texture, and nutritional profile.
The blended approach to cultured meat is arguably one that can both get companies’ products to market faster and help them reach price parity with traditional meat products. Another company, Israel-based Future Meat, also uses this tactic, and in a recent interview with The Spoon, CEO Rom Kshuk called it “low-hanging fruit” when it comes to price parity and scalability.
NAM’s own CEO, Brian Spears, said in a statement today that his company is “relentlessly focused” on driving down costs and scaling production. “Ultimately, we will fail if our products are too expensive and low volume to be served anywhere but luxury restaurants,” he said.
This new funding will allow NAM to continue building up its team, which includes former staffers from Impossible Foods. The company is also preparing for a Series A round “in the coming months,” though no detailed timeframe was given.
NAM has raised a total of $7 million to date.
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