Led · Series A · Jan 2025

Project Eaden develops ultra-realistic plant-based meats using proprietary fibre-spinning and compounding technology inspired by the textile industry. Its initial product lineup focuses on ultra-realistic hams, and the company is pursuing R&D of whole-cut meats. The startup closed an oversubscribed €15M Series A, bringing total funding to €27M, to support a European retail launch and further product development. Its products are endorsed by butchers, Michelin chefs and retail buyers. Project Eaden reports that each kilogram of its product reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 kg CO₂-eq, cuts water use by up to 56 m³ and decreases land use by up to 20 m². The company plans a multi-market European launch in 2025, starting with a retail debut in thousands of REWE supermarkets in Germany in the first half of the year. Project Eaden develops edible plant-based protein fibers and a fiber-spinning process intended to produce whole cuts of meat alternatives (the company aims to launch a plant-based steak this year). Its proprietary bio-fiber approach mimics the texture, juiciness and bite resistance of animal meat by bundling millions of thin fibers into finished cuts. The startup says the method is more scalable and less costly than extrusion and could be applied across beef, pork, chicken and seafood. Project Eaden is pre-revenue and currently moving from lab setup to prototype production with plans to refurbish manufacturing space for in-house scale-up. The company plans to hire R&D and food-grade materials staff and partner with culinary experts to debut the product. Longer-term plans include moving to a highly automated production facility and pursuing additional funding to accelerate a commercial plant build. Founders include materials scientist David Schmelzeisen, mymuesli founder Hubertus Bessau and ex-Zalando manager Jan Wilmking. Project Eaden develops animal-free steak and plans a wider portfolio of sustainable foods produced with proprietary technology that aims to recreate aroma, texture and visual appeal. The company says its process can handle a wide range of raw materials and is recruiting tissue engineers to reinvent plant-based meat "from the fiber up." Founders include Dr.-Ing. David Schmelzeisen (R&D), Jan Wilmking and mymuesli co-founder Hubertus Bessau. Project Eaden positions its product as highly palatable and cost-efficient, with the explicit goal of reducing food-related emissions by encouraging preference for sustainable options. The startup claims its first steak prototypes already outperform existing alternatives in taste, look and texture according to the lead investor. The newly raised funds will be used to further develop and scale the company's proprietary technology.

Participated · Debt Financing · Sep 2024

Founded in 2021, Flink Food operates a network of local fulfilment hubs that enable rapid, app-based delivery of everyday groceries and household items. The company targets high-frequency, top-up shopping missions, offering a curated assortment and average delivery times of roughly 30 minutes. Flink has prioritized operational discipline and cost control, and it now reports profitability at the EBITDA level. Key operating metrics include an average basket size exceeding €45, underscoring strong customer spend per order. Having weathered recent consolidation in European online grocery, the firm intends to open additional hubs in selected German regions in 2026, focusing only on locations that meet strict profitability and density criteria. Its model combines in-house logistics with near-real-time delivery to differentiate itself from traditional e-grocery competitors.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2024

Formo is a Berlin-based fermentation startup that makes animal-free cheeses using Koji protein as the primary ingredient. Its production uses micro fermentation—harvesting Koji proteins without genetic modification—allowing it to avoid novel-food regulatory hurdles and sell products immediately. The company launched two SKUs (Frishchain cream-style spread €2.89 and Camembritz Brie-style €3.99) in more than 2,000 REWE, BILLA and METRO stores in Germany and Austria and currently produces about 100 tons per month. Formo plans to scale production to 1,000 tons per month by early 2025 and expand to other European markets and beyond. Future plans include moving into precision fermentation and gene editing to produce milk proteins such as casein to enable meltable hard cheeses; feta-style and blue cheeses are also in the pipeline. The company highlights sustainability benefits (claims of 65% fewer emissions, 83% less land use, and 96% less water versus dairy cream cheese) and says early reception has been strong with a view to reach net profitability relatively soon. Formo is Europe’s first cellular agriculture company developing animal-free dairy products using nature-identical milk proteins produced via precision fermentation. Founded in 2019 and based in Berlin, the startup domesticates microorganisms instead of cows to create cheeses that match the taste, texture, and functional properties of animal-derived products. The company highlights that microorganisms can be up to 20 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into food, which it says supports environmental and cost advantages. Formo plans to use its recent funding to build a pilot plant, fast-track commercial-scale production, and expand its molecular biology and food science teams. With increased R&D capacity, the company intends to broaden its product portfolio to include European dairy specialties such as mozzarella and ricotta, developing techniques in collaboration with artisan cheesemakers. Formo positions its technology as a way to reduce the environmental, human health, and animal welfare costs of traditional dairy production.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2024

Infinite Roots (formerly Mushlabs) is a German biotech company developing products from fungal mycelium for applications ranging from food to materials. The company closed a $58M Series B to accelerate commercial growth and expand production capacity. IR plans to use the capital to invest in launch activities and scale using an asset-light production approach. That approach includes partnering with existing industrial facilities and refurbishing parts of a large German brewery to use brewery capacity and waste as a production hub. The firm faces well-funded competitors in the mycelium space, including Meati, Nature’s Fynd, Myco Technology, Enough, and Quorn. Founder and CEO Dr. Mazen Rizk said the funding reflects the company’s ability to scale its technology toward industrial production. Mushlabs develops liquid-fermentation processes to grow edible mushroom mycelium for use in alternative-protein and meat-replacement products. Its mycelia are fed on agrifood sidestreams, producing biomass in four to five days and enabling a highly circular, lower-water, lower-footprint process. The startup highlights nutritional benefits (protein, micronutrients, fiber with prebiotic properties) and a cleaner label versus some competitors, using recognizable edible mushroom varieties. Mushlabs sees potential for decentralized, mobile production that can operate year-round and support localized food supply during crises. Since launching in mid-2018 the company has built an 11-person team with experience at Unilever and Marley Spoon. It plans to use new capital to scale to industrial production, build a sales function, and is considering consumer-facing offerings.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2022

Trigo builds an autonomous checkout system called EasyOut that uses overhead cameras, shelf sensors, machine learning and "digital twins" of stores to enable cashier-free grocery experiences. It also provides inventory-management tools and plans to launch StoreOS to combine checkout, analytics, marketing and other in-store systems. The company targets large-format supermarkets and has opened stores between about 3,000 and 5,000 square feet to date, and is working on deployments larger than 10,000 square feet. Trigo lists major grocery customers and partners including Tesco, REWE, ALDI Nord (Netherlands), Netto (Munich), Shufersal (Israel) and the Wakefern cooperative (U.S.). Management says typical customers see return on investment within about 18 months, and the firm argues its full-store camera-and-sensor approach supports broader store digitization and predictive inventory management. The company faces competitors such as Standard Cognition, Shopic, Caper, Zippin and Grabango, and sees opportunities to retrofit thousands of existing grocery stores and expand into pharmacies and quick-service restaurants. Trigo develops an end-to-end computer-vision checkout system combining camera hardware and encrypted, privacy-by-design software to automatically detect and bill items as shoppers leave. The company positions its product as a rival to Amazon’s "Just Walk Out" and is already in trials with retailers. Trigo has strategic relationships with Tesco (UK trials) and Shufersal (Israel), and its latest investor is REWE Group, which will pilot a new grab-and-go store in Cologne with scope to expand across REWE’s ~3,700 German stores. Financially, Trigo confirmed a $10M investment in this round and says it has now raised $104M in total, after a Series A in 2019 and a $60M Series B in December of last year. The company is not disclosing a valuation. Trigo builds AI-powered computer-vision frictionless checkout systems that retrofit existing grocery stores using ceiling-mounted cameras and off-the-shelf hardware. Its proprietary algorithms learn shoppers' movements and product choices so customers can walk out while payments and receipts are settled digitally. The company offers a privacy-by-design RetailOS 3D engine that uses anonymized movement and product data to provide predictive inventory management, pricing optimization, security and fraud prevention, planogram compliance, and event-driven marketing. Trigo has seen rapid growth and strong demand in 2020 and is working with leading retailers on the European mainland to open stores in 2021, including a trial with Tesco at a Tesco Express in Welwyn Garden City. The new funds will be used to scale the business, boost R&D, and expand its global presence. The company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Trigo builds a store-wide computer-vision and sensor platform that monitors shoppers and automatically tallies items so customers can leave without a traditional checkout. Its system triangulates camera data to avoid double-charging and removes items from the bill if discarded. The company is piloting the technology in roughly 5,000-square-foot stores and says it can be implemented to work with or without loyalty cards. Trigo has deals in place with an unspecified European chain and Israel’s largest grocer, Shufersal, which plans to implement the solution in 280 stores over five years. The product targets large supermarkets and aims to scale beyond current pilot store sizes. Trigo does not disclose revenue or valuation and has raised capital to continue product development and retailer deployments.