2024 Wrapped: The Top 10 Future Food Funding Rounds of the Year

While investment in alternative protein and future food startups has fallen again this year, there have still been some sizeable VC funding rounds. These are the 10 biggest raises of 2024, featuring mycelium meat, animal-free milk, and cocoa-free chocolate.

1) Meati: $100M

Colorado-based startup Meati secured $100M in a Series C1 round led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, the largest alternative protein investment since its own $150M Series C raise in 2022. It took Meati’s total funding to $365M, and was earmarked for its targeted retail expansion to 10,000 doors by the end of this year.

2) Perfect Day: $90M

At the start of the year, Californian precision fermentation pioneer Perfect Day bagged $90M in a Series E round led by internal investors, simultaneously announcing the departure of co-founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi. It took its total raised past $840M.

3) Formo: $61M

German fermentation player Formo closed a $61M Series B round, with participants including FoodLabs, The Nature Conservancy and Rewe Group, among others. It coincided with the retail launch of Formo’s koji-based cream cheese range, and brought its total investment to $117M.

4) Infinite Roots: $58M

Another mycelium protein maker, Hamburg-based Infinite Roots raised $58M in Series B financing Dr. Hans Riegel Holding (one of the two holding companies of Haribo), with participation from the European Innovation Council Fund and Rewe Group, among others. The round took the company’s total raised to $73M.

5) Prolific Machines: $55M

Californian biotech startup Prolific Machines nabbed $55M in a Series B1 round The Ki Tua Fund, the VC arm of New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, with participation from Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, among others. Taking its total funding to $86.5M, the investment was said to help commercialise its photomolecular platform to grow cultivated meat with light.

6) Voyage Foods: $52M

Also in California, ethical pantry startup Voyage Foods secured $52M in a Series A+ funding round led by Level One Fund and Horizons Ventures, which it said it would use to launch new products and support the construction of its 284,000 sq ft facility in Ohio (for which it later received a $25M loan from the USDA). The cocoa-free chocolate maker has cumulatively raised $94M to date.

7) Helaina: $45M

To help launch its precision-fermented breast milk equivalent in the US market, Helaina closed a $45M Series B round led by Avidity Partners. The New York-based firm said the funding would help scale up its Effera Human Lactoferrin ingredient, bringing it to market in 2025 via products from Kroma Wellness, Mitsubishi International Food Ingredients, and more. It has secured $83M in financing to date.

8) Heura: $43M

Spanish plant-based meat Heura netted €40M ($43M at the time) in Series B financing, with investors including Upfield and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. The company said the funds would accelerate international expansion, allow it to license its tech, and drive the business profitability. It brought Heura’s total funding to about $95M.

9) Mosa Meat: $42.4M

The largest funding round for a cultivated meat company this year (and since 2022) came from the Netherlands, where Mosa Meat raised €40M ($42.4M). The oversubscribed round was led by Lowercarbon Capital and M Ventures, with participation from government-backed investors too. Mosa Meat has secured over $135M from investors, and is using the funds to scale up ahead of launch.

10) Onego Bio: $40M

Finnish precision fermentation firm Onego Bio raised $40M in Series A funding to commercialise its animal-free egg protein, Bioalbumen. The round was led by NordicNinja, with participation from EIT Food, Agronomics, and more. It brought the startup’s total funding to $56M, and was followed by Onego Bio self-determining GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status in the US.