Cultivated meat company Mosa Meat secures new funding amid sector shake-up

Cultivated meat company Mosa Meat has raised another 15 million euros from investors. In contrast to its rival, Meatable, which has halted operations due to funding issues, Mosa Meat continues to attract capital. Including an earlier funding round of 40 million euros and a crowdfunding campaign, the company has raised a total of 58 million euros over the past two years.

The founders of Mosa Meat, a spin-off from Maastricht University, created the world’s first “cultivated” beef hamburger in 2013 by growing it in a lab from cow cells. The pioneering prototype came with a price tag of approximately 250,000 euros.

Mosa Meat has since cut production costs substantially and is now working to commercialize cultivated meat. The company has filed applications for regulatory approval in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, and Singapore.

Investors in Mosa Meat include Just Eat Takeaway CEO Jitse Groen and the Dutch government investment fund Invest-NL. One representative of the latter, Victor Meijer, wrote, “Investing in cultivated meat, like in any emerging industry, is challenging and demands persistence."

Invest-NL was also announced as one of the backers of Leiden-based cultivated meat firm Meatable. The company said half of a 30 million euro funding round came from the state-backed fund.

British investment firm Agronomics announced on Friday it was going to close the doors at Meatable for good. The company has struggled to obtain enough funding from both current shareholders and new investors to continue operations, and will be wound down. Attempts to contact Meatable for a detailed explanation of the issues were unsuccessful.

Agronomics said it pumped 7.9 million pounds (9 million euros) into Meatable. "While this outcome is disappointing, we believe the decision has been taken responsibly and in the best interests of all stakeholders," said Agronomics Chair Jim Mellon in a brief statement.

That has apparently not stopped Invest-NL's enthusiasm for the cultivated meat sector. "Mosa Meat has established a strong foundation and is making tangible strides toward commercialization. The company’s capable team, steady progress, and ongoing support from current shareholders give us confidence to continue supporting the next phase of growth,” Meijer stated.