Wanda Fish Technologies develops whole-cut cultivated bluefin tuna filets by growing muscle and fat cells in bioreactors to replicate texture, flavor and nutrition without slaughtering fish. The company has produced a 3D filet prototype differentiated into both muscle and fat tissues and says its proprietary technology can precisely control fat levels to create cuts including toro. Wanda Fish holds an exclusive licensing and sponsored research agreement with Tufts University and is working with David Kaplan at Tufts’ Center for Cellular Agriculture. Co-founded in 2021 by CEO Daphna Heffetz (PhD, former biotech executive), Malkiel Cohen and Yaron Sfadyah, the startup is still early stage but progressing toward scalability. The $7M seed will be used to optimize technology and accelerate scale-up of the cultivated whole-cut filet prototype, with plans to begin regulatory approvals in early 2025 and to sell into restaurants in 2026. Wanda Fish develops cultivated seafood, aiming to produce sustainable fish fillets from fish muscle and fat cells using a non-GMO cell-culture platform. The company has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Tufts University to access IP developed by David Kaplan and will support a two-year research programme into fish cell production. Wanda is working with Israeli and U.S. teams — the Israeli team is led by Malkiel Cohen, PhD, while the U.S. contingent falls under Kaplan — and is finalising a prototype fillet. The startup says it uses animal-free growth mediums, custom scalable bioreactors, and aims to reproduce native nutritional, flavor and textural properties while avoiding contaminants like microplastics and mercury. Wanda raised $3 million in a pre-seed round and received support from the Israeli Innovation Authority to advance its R&D. No timetable for prototype completion or product launch has been disclosed.

Total raised

$10M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Oct 2023