Foodtech startup Sallea is today announcing a $2.6 million funding round to help manufacturers of cultivated foods accelerate the production of premium whole cuts like steaks and fillets without animal farming.
Founded in November 2023 by an all-female founding team, sallea’s technology enables the creation of precisely structured, edible, and porous 3D grids - so called scaffolds - that serve as the foundation for cultivating textured whole cuts of meat and fish.
These scaffolds are added to bioreactors containing cells. These cells will then attach to sallea’s scaffolds and grow in three dimensions into whole cuts thereby improving the nutritional profile and texture of the end product.
Manufacturers of cultivated foods will now not only be able to tailor the size and shape but also the nutritional profile of their scaffolds to the end product.
The company's proprietary technology is built on research developed at ETH Zurich by co-founders Dr. Nicole Kleger, CTO and Simona Fehlmann, who were joined by co-founder and CCO Anna Bünter (ex-McKinsey).
"Cultivated foods have been limited to sausages and minced meat. Our technology has the potential to kick-start cellular agriculture by accelerating time to market and lowering the production costs for cultivated whole cuts such as steaks and fillets," says Simona Fehlmann, CEO and co-founder of sallea.
"This funding round allows us to advance our mission of setting the industry standard for edible scaffolds in cellular agriculture. We can now upgrade our production capacity, enter partnerships for product co-development, and double down on our development efforts."
The pre-seed funding round was led by Founderful with participation from Kost Capital. This pre-seed round marks sallea's first equity investment, building on the $1.8 million in non-dilutive funding previously secured through research and startup grants.
Antonia Albert, Principal at Founderful, commented:
“sallea unlocks the potential of cultivated meat, paving the way for a sustainable, cruelty-free future. With the cultivated meat market expected to surpass $370 billion by 2030, we are thrilled to partner with Simona, Anna, and Nicole as they redefine the future of food.”
Sallea's technology comes at a crucial time for the cellular agriculture industry. As the sector shifts from completely integrated value chains to an ecosystem where specialised components like cell media and scaffolds are sourced externally, scaffolds in particular are increasingly recognized as a complex yet essential element.
Cultivators are actively seeking partnerships with companies that can provide these specialised solutions.
With this new funding, sallea plans to accelerate product development and initiate pilot projects with cultivating companies around the globe. The company aims to be the leading scaffold provider, accelerating the transition to more sustainable production of animal proteins.
Lead image: Founders of sallea, Dr. Nicole Kleger, Anna Bünter, and Simona Fehlmann. Photo: uncredited.
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