The new funding would allow the company to expand its operations and offerings and boost growth in the cultivated meat sector.
Edinburgh-based food and agritech firm Roslin Technologies has completed a Series A funding round led by Novo Holdings.
The £11 million investment will support the company’s next phase of growth as it aims to become a “leading provider” of animal cell lines to the emerging cultivated meat sector.
Roslin Tech has developed pluripotent animal stem cells with the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end tissues for meat.
The firm is making these cells available to cultivated meat producers globally. Currently, the company has customers in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Ernst van Orsouw, CEO of Roslin Technologies, commented: “We are excited to welcome Novo Holdings and other investors on our journey to improve the food system.
“With the investment and strategic support, we can accelerate the development of better cells for the sector and focus on making our customers successful.”
Cultivated meat is meat grown directly from animal cells without the need to raise animals. The meat could improve animal welfare, lower antibiotics use and reduce the environmental footprint of meat production.
The cultivated meat sector is rapidly growing with over 100 currently active companies securing billions of dollars of investment.
The investment will allow Roslin Technologies to expand its cell line portfolio and to further develop the protocols for the scale-up of its cells into cost-competitive cell biomass for meat production.
It will do so jointly with its customers, development collaborators, and the University of Edinburgh with which Roslin Tech has a privileged relationship.
Additionally, the firm revealed it will also invest in its insect venture which focuses on breeding better insects for the emerging insect protein sector, a promising regenerative agricultural technique.
Nis Bak, Principal Novo Holdings and new board member added: “We’ve been impressed with Roslin Technologies’ team and innovative technologies, which have the potential to materially improve the production of a novel, sustainable proteins.
“We are excited to invest alongside a strong syndicate of investors whose joint vision for Roslin Technologies and complementary capabilities will be a great asset to the company in its continued development.”
