Join oversubscribed seed round in FoodTech pioneer
Fall Line Capital, Sake Bosch join $3M Mermade investment led by OurCrowd
- Seed-stage alternative protein company producing cell-based shellfish raises $3M seed round, exceeding expectations
- Proprietary, scalable media recycling technology using algae has potential to significantly reduce cost of production, environmental impact
- Established recirculating saltwater aquarium system to grow first colony of 50 scallops of different varieties in-house; set to perform IVF in world's first marine mollusk stem cell platform
- Targeting most expensive shellfish, also most associated with disease in the wild; first product planned is cultured scallop, premium $8B market
- Recruiting more experts to join strong scientific team with deep background, extensive experience in cultured meat
- Closing soon: Investors can still join current round led by OurCrowd with participation from Fall Line Capital and angel investor Sake Bosch, Founder of Prime Ventures
BOOK A CALL
with your Investor Relations representative
Dear Josb,
The alternative protein market is growing fast, with plant-based offerings enjoying rapid revenue growth and heavy investments going into cell-based and fermentation-based products, which aim to manufacture foodstuffs without animals. Consumers are ready and waiting for real cell-based meat and fish.
OurCrowd is investing in Mermade, an Israeli startup developing new food production technology that could dramatically reduce the cost of cell-based meat and seafood. The details in this email are based on information received from, and verified solely by, the company.
Blue Ocean Market
Mermade has selected an untapped category to start: cell-based whole scallops, which are more uniform in composition compared with other whole cuts, making it easier to replicate their texture and appearance than other products. This will encourage easier consumer adoption and a shorter time to market. Scallops are also a premium and highly nutritious product with a high price point and an $8B market.
Proprietary Technology
One of the most expensive components in the production process of cell-based food products is the cell culture growth medium, which must be changed frequently to provide fresh "food" for the cells and remove harmful waste products. While other companies simply discard the spent media before it has been completely exhausted, Mermade is developing a proprietary technology to recycle and reuse the media. This process allows a substantial reduction in the cost of production, improves scalability, and significantly reduces the environmental impact.
The Team
Mermade's technical team has a deep background in cell-based meat products. CTO Dr. Rotem Kadir was the senior professional authority in biological research at SuperMeat, the cultivated meat company with extensive experience in cell line establishment and immortalization. COO Dr. Tomer Halevy was head of product at SuperMeat and oversaw the transition from small-scale flasks to a pilot-scale industrial bioreactor for the mass production of cell-based raw material and the development of the company's cell-based chicken food products.
Since OurCrowd launched this opportunity in February, the company reports the following developments:
Investment round oversubscribed: Originally set at $2.5M, this Seed round has been increased to $3M to accommodate demand from investors, including Fall Line Capital and Sake Bosch, Founder of Prime Ventures.
Recirculating aquarium: The company has built a recirculating saltwater aquarium system to grow its first colony of 50 scallops of different varieties in house. This enables the scientists to work with the scallops.
World's first mollusk stem cell platform: The company has established the world's first marine mollusk stem cell platform and will perform in vitro fertilization using its new recirculating aquarium.
New hires: The company hired a star bioprocess engineer and is recruiting two more PhDs as researchers to bolster its expert team.
Testing microalgae: The company is testing five different strains of microalgae and conducting experiments for their use in recycling spent media, as well as initial experiments to test interaction between the algae and animal cells as part of the growth medium.
The Round
Mermade is a pre-revenue company engaged in early-stage R&D. This oversubscribed Seed round led by OurCrowd with participation from Fall Line Capital and angel investor Sake Bosch, the Founder of Prime Ventures has been increased to $3M and will close soon.
Proceeds will be used to achieve three key milestones:
- Establishing a scallop cell culture that will form the basis of the company's production line
- Achieving significant media recycling results in the treatment of spent media
- Achieving initial results in cell culture media reduction
Please note that this opportunity is time sensitive. In order to secure your allocation in this strictly limited round, signed documents and funds should be received by the end of the day Israel time on Friday, July 29th.
Meet the CEO
Watch an investor briefing with CEO Daniel Einhorn and learn more about Mermade.
The Mermade Solution
The Good Food Institute states that the cell culture medium is the most significant cost driver in cell culturing and "will provide the greatest marginal cost contribution in industrial-scale production." The Institute estimates that 55% to 95% of the marginal cost of the product is attributable to the cost of the medium. It is common practice in today's ecosystem to simply discard all of the media after it has been partially used.
Mermade aims to be the first company to provide a circular method of production that will take the spent media and recycle it with the intention of being used as "food" again for growing cells – thus solving both cost and waste problems. This method is based on a well-known practice common in aquaculture known as aquaponics. Mermade intends to take the methodology of aquaponics and adapt it to spearhead the next revolution of cellular agriculture – coining the term Cytoponics.
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