Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Unicorn Biotechnologies develops bioreactors and systems engineered for growing animal cells at scale rather than repurposing hardware built for yeast, bacteria or vaccine production. Its core product approach emphasizes modularity — many smaller systems operating in parallel — to simplify control and scaling. The company is building end-to-end automation with built-in sensing, machine learning and industrial automation so operators can run systems without specialized Ph.D. expertise. Unicorn is currently at prototype stage and is using recent funding to move toward a commercial product. The startup has hired staff with part of the new capital and aims to deliver a proof-of-concept scale machine capable of producing kilograms of cells by the end of the year. Pilot projects with partners are expected around that time or in early 2023, and the company intends to enable other cultivated-meat firms rather than produce meat itself.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2022

Opalia cultivates mammary cells in bioreactors to produce complete milk—including proteins, fats, and sugars—intended as a drop-in replacement for conventional fluid or powdered milk. The company positions its approach as distinct from precision fermentation by producing whole milk rather than single milk proteins. Opalia targets the global dairy market through a B2B licensing and supply model rather than direct-to-consumer sales. It has signed paid commercial pilot agreements with established dairy players, including Hoogwegt and the Canadian division of a major dairy group, with partnerships across five countries on three continents. Opalia plans to scale a modular bioreactor system using proceeds from the CAD 3.2M seed round and aims for a commercial launch in 2028 while pursuing regulatory approvals in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Led · Seed · Mar 2022

Umami Meats develops cultivated seafood centered on a plant-derived growth serum intended to drive down production costs and reach price parity with conventional seafood. The company is building a low-cost, scalable production system and aims to deliver production-ready cell lines for multiple fish species, including Japanese eel, yellowfin tuna and red snapper. Its stated mission is to create healthy, sustainable seafood without harming animals or oceans and to reduce pressure on wild fisheries. The new funding will be used to further develop production processes ahead of product demonstrations and taste tests. Umami Meats hopes to position Singapore as a leading technology platform for minimizing the cost of large-scale cell-based manufacturing. The company secured $2.4M in pre-seed funding to support these efforts.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2021

MeliBio produces Mellody, a vegan honey that replicates honey using fructose, glucose, plant extracts, gluconic acid and natural flavours. The company has expanded distribution across the US via foodservice, D2C and retail partnerships (Eleven Madison Park online, independent retailers, KeHE, UNFI, Greco and Sons, ACE Natural) and launched in Europe through a partnership with Slovenia’s Narayan Foods. It can produce 10,000 lbs of Mellody per day and has a $10M, four‑year deal intended to place its product into 75,000 stores. MeliBio began as a precision‑fermentation company and continues to develop fermented versions of honey, having increased the titer of its main enzyme target by 1,300% and moving multiple protein/enzyme targets from ideation to bioreactors. The company recently won a German patent for its plant‑based honey technology and is working with AI‑led biomanufacturing partner Pow.Bio while evaluating additional scale‑up partners. Since founding in 2020 it has raised around $10M in total and plans to reopen a Series A next year after shifting to a pre‑Series A amid a tougher food‑tech fundraising environment. MeliBio produces plant-based honey formulated with ingredients naturally found in honey to match the taste, quality, and nutrition of conventional honey. The product performs and tastes like standard honey and can be used as a direct 1:1 substitute in culinary applications. MeliBio’s plant-based honey was selected for the SIAL Innovation Selection 2022 and its earlier ingredient product was named to TIME’s Best Inventions 2021; it has been featured at restaurants including Eleven Madison Park and BAIA. The company plans a European rollout through a partnership with Narayan Foods, launching under the Better Foodie brand across 75,000 stores beginning in Q1 2023, and is offering private-label opportunities. MeliBio ships its consumer product in early 2023 and positions the product as a sustainable alternative addressing pesticide use, adulteration, and bee population declines. The company was founded in 2020 in Berkeley and is headquartered in Oakland, California; it has received additional funding to support scaling. MeliBio engineers honey without bees by combining plant science and precision fermentation to recreate and scale the molecular composition of honey. Founded in 2020 by Darko Mandich and Aaron Schaller and based in San Francisco, the company aims to address sustainability and supply-chain issues in the $10 billion global honey market. Its product has been tested in four New York restaurants and the company reports 30 partner companies have signed letters of intent for validation studies. MeliBio is pre-revenue but plans a product launch in April and intends to expand into foodservice and B2B applications. The company also plans to explore the $500 billion ingredients market using its precision fermentation platform. Current headcount is four full-time employees plus 14 contractors, with plans to grow full-time staff to 10 by year-end. MeliBio develops real honey without bees using a proprietary scientific approach and after extensive R&D has scaled the method to a manufacturing level. The company offers plant-based honey as a B2B ingredient for foodservice and other product categories, and began taking orders for deliveries starting late 2021 and into early 2022. It showcased samples at an event in the San Francisco Bay Area and is positioning the product to serve multiple clients. MeliBio frames its product as a sustainability solution to a $9 billion honey industry facing bee biodiversity loss and climate-driven yield volatility. Founded in 2020 by Darko Mandich and Aaron Schaller, PhD, the California-based company aims to replace honeybees in production and help restore wild bee biodiversity. The company is venture-backed and has raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding from investors across the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. MeliBio develops real honey without bees using a proprietary mix of synthetic biology, precision fermentation, and plant science. The company was founded in 2020 by Aaron Schaller, PhD, and Darko Mandich and is based in Berkeley, California. MeliBio aims to recreate honey’s composition and flavor to provide a vegan, sustainable alternative to traditional honey. It plans initially to supply food‑service companies with plant‑based honey as an ingredient and to soft‑launch its first product at the end of the year, fulfilling orders from its accelerator program. The company says it is in talks with international partners and expects broader commercial rollout in the first half of 2022. MeliBio emphasizes environmental impact, citing the $9 billion global honey market and a goal of helping to save some 20,000 wild and native bee species.