Series C Funding Brings the UPSIDE of Meat One (Giant) Step Closer
April 21, 2022
Written by
UPSIDE Foods
Today, we’re proud to announce the close of our Series C funding round. We’re one (historic) step closer to bringing meat to tables around the world and to achieving our mission to make our favorite food a force for good!
Our $400 million Series C is the largest round of investment to date in the cultivated meat industry and will help us drive product innovation, partnerships, and the infrastructure needed to make cultivated meat at scale. With this round of funding, we will continue our industry leadership and commercialization push – including building a new commercial facility that will target making tens of millions of pounds of UPSIDE meat every year!
When we asked Uma Valeti, our Founder & CEO, what this milestone means, he put it this way:
“UPSIDE has reached an historic inflection point, moving from R&D to commercialization. Our team at UPSIDE continues to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in our mission to make our favorite food a force for good. Working in partnership with our world-class coalition of investors, we’re excited to bring delicious, sustainable and humane meat to the consumers around the world.”
This round is co-led by Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, and the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), reflecting the global impact of and interest in our work. They are joined by major food and ingredient companies Cargill, Givaudan, and Tyson Foods, individual investors Bill Gates, John Doerr, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, and a range of other preeminent financial and institutional investors. These investors all share one thing in common – their conviction that our cultivated meat is an important part of a future with more UPSIDEs for all of us!
Our journey thus far has seen us grow from a small group of dreamers to our current crew of more than 170 #UPSIDERS and counting (PS: we’re hiring!). In just the last two years, we have announced UPSIDE chicken as our first consumer product, partnered with three-Michelin starred chef Dominique Crenn, developed a cell feed that’s completely free of ALL animal components, acquired cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence, rebranded from Memphis Meats to UPSIDE Foods, welcomed Whole Foods and its CEO, John Mackey, as investors, and built and opened EPIC, our Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center – the most advanced production facility and innovation space for cultivated meat in the world.
We’re often asked what existing meat companies think about meat with only UPSIDEs. As Brian Sikes of Cargill put it: “our continued support for UPSIDE’s innovative work underscores Cargill’s commitment to an inclusive approach to wholesome, sustainable protein that will meet customer and consumer needs now and in the future.” Our backing from Cargill, Tyson, Chef Crenn, and others throughout the food industry show that this is only the beginning of the opportunities for UPSIDE.
We can’t wait for you to taste what we’re cooking!
