Aleph Farms raises $105m as it prepares to launch its cultivated meat in restaurants next year

The funding round, announced this morning and led by Growth Fund of L Catterton and DisruptAD along with participation from Skyviews Life Sciences and a consortium of food and meat companies, will help the Israeli-based startup develop new products to complement its existing portfolio.

Aleph Farms, which launched in 2017, made a name for itself as a leader in the rapidly evolving cultivated meat space when in 2018 it developed the first whole cut beef steak from non-genetically modified animal cells in a process that relies on a 3D tissue engineering platform rather than animal slaughter. Earlier this year, it added cultivated ribeye steak to its portfolio – another industry first.

The company also made headlines in 2019 as the first company to cultivate meat in space – a move that underscored the company’s sustainability mission by demonstrating its ability to create high-quality food under extreme conditions in a closed-loop system with zero waste or emissions.

The environmental impact of cultured meat has come under question with some studies suggesting it may be worse for climate change, but Aleph Farms CEO Didier Toubia argues​ the full production process of animal-based meat must be compared to that of cultured meat. When this is done, he says, cultivated meat comes out on top.

Aleph Farm’s space stunt​ and most recent fundraise also reinforces the company’s mission to enhance food security by producing meat locally.

“This additional capital form top-tier partners with unparalleled experience and expertise brings us significantly closer to our vision of providing secure and uncontrolled access to high-quality nutrition to anyone, anytime, anywhere,”​ Toubia said in a statement.