Startup Upside Foods To Serve Americans Cultivated Meat

Steak Without the Cow

Upside Foods of Berkeley, California wants to put cultivated meat on Americans’ plates. The company produces beef, chicken, and duck in their lab, with products developed from stem-cells. The process is meant to provide ground and whole cut versions to satisfy consumer demand, while bypassing the practice of slaughtering live animals.

The company is one of many in the foodtech sector that’s attracting investor interest. In 2021, $12.8 billion in investment funds flowed in to support innovation in the space, with about half of those dollars pegged for startups working on alternatives to animal-based food.

Upside Bags $400 Million

After Upside snagged $400 million in a Series C Round, its valuation exceeded $1 billion. The round was led by Temasek and Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, with support from Baillie Gifford, Givaudan, John Doerr, SALT Fund, and Synthesis Capital.

These funds joined several existing investors that took part in the raise: Bill Gates, Cargill, Cercano Management, CPT Capital, Dentsu Ventures, EDBI, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SOSV’s IndieBio, and Tyson Foods (TSN).

Ready or Not?

The company will use the capital infusion to build a production facility, expand its supply chain, deepen its research and development, and add to its head count. Upside plans to introduce its cultivated meat to consumers this year, pending it gets the green light from regulators.

Upside Foods will also initiate a campaign to persuade consumers to give their products a try. While the environmental and animal welfare benefits may appeal to many, it’s an entirely different step to add cultivated meat to the shopping cart and weekly menu.

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