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.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2024

Founded in 2022, Cellva Ingredients has developed CoffeeCoa, an ingredient made by extracting bioactive compounds from coffee parchment and silver skin and microencapsulating them for use in chocolate, bakery, beverage and nutrition products. The naturally sweet, antioxidant-rich powder offers manufacturers a stable, traceable and more sustainable substitute for cocoa, targeting both cost savings and reduced environmental impact. Cellva partners directly with regulated coffee producers in Brazil, operating close to origin for full supply-chain transparency. The company produced only gram-scale pilot batches in 2024 but plans to process about 2,000 tonnes of raw material this year as it moves into its first large-scale production cycle. A semi-industrial R&D and processing center with spray-drying capabilities is being set up in Manaus to support this scale-up. Commercially, Cellva is already shipping product to industrial bakery and chocolate processors in Brazil and is in active discussions with potential customers in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Management estimates CoffeeCoa could help the food industry save roughly $435 million annually, highlighting significant market potential.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2024

Poseidona harvests invasive seaweed and algal side-streams and uses enzymatic hydrolysis and a proprietary combination of enzymes to extract high-quality proteins intended as a soy-protein alternative. The company's first product is a soy-alternative protein concentrate that currently has umami notes and a reddish color; the team is working on organoleptics to improve flavor and color. Founders Sònia Hurtado and María Cermeño combine industry experience—Cermeño holds a doctorate in food biochemistry and Hurtado previously co-founded Current Foods (acquired by Wicked Kitchen in 2023)—to advance R&D. Poseidona aims to launch the concentrate at the end of 2024. It plans to expand its proprietary methodology to other macroalgae species such as Sargassum and to develop regulatory-compliant collection programs involving fishermen as an additional revenue stream. The company says its goal is to achieve cost parity with mainstream plant proteins like soy and pea by using low- or null-cost side-stream materials.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2023

Quazy Foods is developing improved microalgae strains and processes to produce functional food ingredients with strong nutritional and functional properties. The company is positioning microalgae as an efficient, healthy and sustainable source to help meet rising global food demand. Recent funding will be used to make key strategic hires, produce initial product samples, and advance to pilot-stage microalgae production. Financially, Quazy closed a pre-seed round of more than €800k and has also secured local and European innovation grants to support its development. The round included ProVeg International, Antler, Sprout & About Ventures and a number of business angels. Founded by siblings Berenike (Nixe) Zimmer and Arvid Seeberg-Elverfeldt in late 2021 and based in Berlin, the team combines corporate and startup leadership experience and emphasizes sustainability in its mission.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2022

Libre Foods is a Spanish biotech based in Barcelona focused on developing mycelium-based ingredients for meat alternatives. Its core work targets creating low-cost mycelium with improved texture, nutrition, and organoleptic qualities for plant-based meat. The company plans to build an advanced high-throughput screening platform combining rapid imaging robotics and machine learning to discover and optimize fungi strains and applications, which it says could increase R&D efficiency by more than 800 times. The platform's first task is to develop a low-cost mycelium ingredient to expand the company’s business model and revenue streams. Libre Foods has already launched mushroom-based bacon in Spanish restaurants, Carrefour Spain, and via the Burger Warriors campaign, and has unveiled a mycelium-grown whole-cut chicken breast from a strain not considered a novel food, which it expects to commercialize soon. Financially, Libre Foods secured a €2.2M investment in 2022 and has now received a €335K Neotec grant, bringing total raised capital to over $3.1M. Libre Foods uses a fermentation process to create mycelium biomass structures that it combines with food science to produce whole-muscle cut meat products. Its first product, Libre Bacon, is planned to launch in Spain during 2022 with a wider European rollout pending regulatory approval. The company established its headquarters and laboratory in Barcelona in 2021 and is accelerating development of chicken and whole-meat products. Libre closed a €2.2M seed round to fund commercialization and product development. Investors in the round include Veg Capital, ProVeg International, Arturo Elizondo, and David Brandes. The startup is expanding its team across fermentation, product development, marketing, and business development. Because the European Food Safety Authority currently classes mycelium-based products as novel foods, commercial development in Europe is not yet permitted.