• Ergo Biotech

  Participated · Seed · Oct 2024

  Ergo Bioscience is a plant cell biotechnology company that grows engineered carrot cell lines in bioreactors to express complex animal proteins, an approach it positions as an alternative to microbial precision fermentation for proteins that yeast and bacteria produce poorly. Its EUKARYA platform combines gene editing, multi-omics and AI-guided cell line design, and its initial portfolio covers bovine myoglobin — the heme protein behind beef's colour, flavour and aroma — alongside alpha-S1 and kappa caseins for animal-free dairy, with immunoglobulins and a broader line of plant metabolites for food, personal care and health in development. The company is pre-revenue and awaiting regulatory clearance in the United States, its principal target market, and in 2022 partnered with Italy's Aethera Biotech to scale its bioprocesses on a plant cell culturing platform with capacity above 120 tonnes per year. Following an October 2024 investment from the Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership, Ergo is opening offices and cell line R&D capabilities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, housed in GAAP's incubator labs, as its route into North America. Founded in 2019 by Alejandro Barbarini, Eduardo Peña and María Laura García, the company is headquartered in Sunchales, Santa Fe, with research split between the CITES incubator there and the National University of La Plata, a holding company in Delaware, and a team of around twelve as of 2023. Financially, Ergo raised a seed financing from CITES alongside public co-financing through Argentina's FONDCE, followed by investments from Pascual Innoventures in September 2023 and GAAP in October 2024; the articles do not disclose the amounts of the latter two rounds or a total raised to date.

• Mylkcubator

  Led · Equity · Sep 2023

  Novo Dairy is focused on producing dairy proteins—including lactoferrin and casein—through precision fermentation to enable animal‑free milk, cheese and dairy ingredients. The company was part of the first edition of Mylkcubator, an accelerator run by Pascual Innoventures with partner Eatable Adventures. In 2022 Pascual Innoventures made an initial investment in Novo Dairy to explore lactoferrin production and casein synthesis. In September 2023 Novo Dairy was one of four startups that received a portion of a €1.5M corporate investment from Pascual Innoventures. The program emphasizes translating fermentation and cellular agriculture technologies toward industrial applicability in dairy alternatives. The company’s near-term trajectory is framed by continued incubation support and corporate partnership through Mylkcubator; no revenue or user metrics are provided in the article.

• Zero Cow Factory

  Participated · Seed · Apr 2023

  Zero Cow Factory is a New York-based biotechnology company co-founded in 2021 by Sohil Kapadia and Parini Kapadia that produces animal-free protein and dairy products. The company has developed patented technology to produce dairy proteins such as casein and whey without the use of animals, with a particular focus on animal-free casein production. Its first product is A2 Beta-casein, which the company says is healthier because it lacks the A1 milk protein associated with indigestion. Zero Cow Factory markets an animal-free 'Smart Protein' positioned as a healthy alternative to cow’s milk protein, free of lactose, antibiotics, growth hormones, cholesterol and saturated fat. The company plans to use new funding to accelerate R&D, scale up production capacity, and obtain regulatory approvals to bring products to market. Zero Cow Factory has participated in global innovation accelerators including Mylkcubator (Spain), MassChallenge (Switzerland) and Plug and Play (USA).

No current team members are available.