Future Fields is helping producers grow cell-based meat in laboratories, and just landed more funding to help scale up its business.
On Feb. 25, the Edmonton-based company announced it had raised US$2.2 million in seed money, coinciding with the shipment of its first commercial product: a proprietary version of the FGF2 growth factor protein.
"Cellular agriculture opens the door to creating high-quality protein with less impact on land, water, and other environmental resources — and our product is the key to unleashing this industry," said Lejjy Gafour, CEO of Future Fields, in an email to Taproot.
The protein is "the most important component of cellular agriculture," said a Feb. 25 press release. Future Fields is shipping the protein to cellular meat producers, who will use it to create the final retail product. The company said its proprietary version of the protein will allow producers to grow meat at a larger scale and lower cost.
Future Fields, which was founded in 2018, was also recently named a finalist for SXSW Pitch, which showcases top technology companies.
Venture capital firm Bee Partners, along with help from a few other investors, was behind the company's recent raise.
"We will be utilizing this capital to rapidly scale up our platform to support this industry globally," Gafour said.