A Chicago startup developing a new way to grow edible protein has raised a large round of funding from top investors, including Bill Gates.
Sustainable Bioproducts, a Chicago biotech startup making a fermentation process to produce lab-grown protein, announced Monday that it has raised $33 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Silicon Valley venture firm 1955 Capital. Also backing the startup is Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion fund led by Bill Gates that aims to invest in companies that are combating climate change. Breakthrough's other investors include Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Richard Branson.
Other backers in Sustainable Bioproducts' round include ADM Ventures, the venture arm of Archer Daniels Midland; Danone Manifesto Ventures, the venture arm of yogurt company Danone; Lauder Partners; and the Liebelson family office.
Sustainable Bioproducts started as a research project from NASA, which aimed to discover what the environment on places like Jupiter and elsewhere in the galaxy would need to look like---physically and chemically---to look for life, Thomas Jonas, the startup's CEO, said in an interview. The research took them to Yellowstone national park, where they studied microbes that could survive in very extreme environments.
Through that work, the startup discovered a fermentation process to efficiently grow edible protein from microscopic organisms that it hopes could one day be a replacement for animal-based meats.
The startup, which is based out of the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is still two years away from commercialization. But Jonas says the company's final product can take the form of a solid, liquid or powder, and be savory or sweet.
"We think that we can have a competitive product that can make a difference globally," Jonas said. "There's a need to find better, more effective solutions [to animal proteins], and we think this is one."
Lab-grown protein has been a popular tech investment in recent years as several upstarts look to bring more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional farm-grown meats. Memphis Meats, also backed by Bill Gates, makes lab-grown chicken and duck meat. Other startups in the space include Geltor, Perfect Day and Finless Foods. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, two other heavily venture backed startups, are making beef-like protein from plants.
Sustainable Bioproducts has 22 employees and is "growing rapidly," Jonas said. The startup, which also has an office in Montana, is looking to open a lab in Chicago.
