Many Bay Area startups, including Impossible Foods Inc., have produced beef-like meat substitutes from plants. But relatively few have dabbled in cell cultivation, a technique that grows real meat cells in an artificial environment.
That's why the recent funding round raised by SciFi Foods — legally known as Artemys Inc. — is interesting. SciFi Foods uses cell cultivation to produce real meats grown in a lab, starting with beef.
"We've devised the technology to grow real meat without the need for an animal — an astounding feat," said Joshua March, co-founder and CEO of SciFi Foods, in a news release. "This innovation is the future we once only imagined could be a reality."
SciFi recently added Myra Pasek to its board of directors. Pasek is general counsel for San Carlos-based Iron Ox Inc., which builds autonomous greenhouses for growing herbs and leafy greens. She was previously general counsel for Impossible Foods, as well as associate general counsel for Tesla Inc.
The startup raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company will use the funding to boost research and development, explore new marketing strategies and hire more workers, according to the release.
Read more Series A funding news from this week below.
Hey Autofill Inc. (dba Magical), San Francisco, $35 million: Coatue Management led the round for this developer of a browser extension that automatically fills text in forms and spreadsheets. Greylock Partners, Bain Capital, Lightspeed Capital, SV Angels and Blank Ventures also participated.
Artemys Inc. (dba SciFi Foods), San Francisco, $22 million: Andreessen Horowitz led the round for this developer of a plant-based cultivated meat.
Incognia US Inc., Palo Alto, $15.5 million: Point72 Ventures led the deal for this provider of authentication and fraud detection software.
Finch Inc., San Francisco, $15 million: Menlo Ventures led the round for this developer of APIs for human resources systems. General Catalyst, Bedrock, SemperVirens Venture Capital and Y Combinator also invested.
Shiny Planes Inc. (dba LaunchNotes), San Francisco, $15 million: Insight Partners led the round for this provider of software for managing product development. Atlassian Ventures, The New Normal Fund, Essence VC, Cowboy Ventures and Bull City Venture Partners also participated
Continual Inc., San Francisco, $14.5 million: Innovation Endeavors led the round for this provider of software for building artificial intelligence models. Amplify Partners, Illuminate Ventures, Inspired Capital, Data Community Fund, Activation, New Normal and GTMfund also invested.
Kinside Inc., San Francisco, $12 million: Wellington Access Ventures led the round for this developer of a marketplace for child care. Magnify Ventures, Initialized Capital and Maven Ventures also invested.
Teleo Inc., Palo Alto, $12 million: UP.Partners led the round for this developer of equipment that can be added to machines used in construction to make them semi-autonomous. F-Prime Capital, K9 Ventures and Trucks Venture Capital also invested.
Canix Inc., San Francisco, $10 million: Altair VC, Canthexis Ventures and Emles Ventures invested in this provider of business management software for vendors of marijuana products.
Opal Inc., New York and San Francisco, $10 million: Greylock Partners led the round for this provider of an access management service for corporate networks.
Sanlo, San Francisco, $10 million: Konvoy led the deal for this provider of financing for developers of games and other apps. Initial Capital, Portage Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, London Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Fin Capital and GFR Fund also participated.
Extracker Inc., San Francisco, $7 million: Cloud Apps Capital Partners led the round for this provider of change order communication software for the construction industry. Building Ventures and Jackson Square Ventures also invested.
