Israeli food tech company Meat-Tech 3D officially announced yesterday that it had closed a $7 million funding round for its cultured meat production technologies that integrate 3D printing. The round was led by Psagot Provident and Pension Funds with participation from the Mor investment house as well as private investors.
The funding announcement comes about one week after Meat-Tech 3D said it had started the process for an IPO in the U.S. (The company is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange already.)
At this point, Meat-Tech 3D is more focused on the B2B realm, with plans to license its technology — a combination of cell-cultured meat processing and 3D printing — to alt-meat producers, rather than creating its own line of products.
That technology and process involves growing cells in bioreactors then turning the different cell types (e.g., muscle, fat) into inks that get bioprinted to mimic a specific cut of meat. The 3D-printed structures are then placed in incubators where they grow before being frozen and packaged for shipping. The company successfully printed a piece of beef via this method.
Scale, however, is what Meat-Tech 3D ultimately wants to achieve. And as we’ve discussed before, there’s a long trek towards cultured meat at scale, and a big difference between a successful prototype and having an actual product widely available.
Meat-Tech isn’t the only cell-based meat company using 3D printing. At the recent Smart Kitchen Summit, NovaMeat showed off it’s 3D printer by making a “steak” live during the show. And earlier this year, Redefine Meat said it had achieved the ability to 3D print plant-based steaks using industrial-level technology.
Meat-Tech CEO Sharon Fima said in today’s press release that the new funds will enable the company to progress with its acquisition of cultured meat company Peace of Meat as well as continuing to build out R&D.
The company has not yet provided a timeframe for the IPO.
