Friday, September 3, 2021

Plantible Harvests $21.5M To Turn Duckweed Into Protein For Humans

San Diego-based Plantible Foods, a startup developing a system to use Lemna--otherwise known as duckweed--as a protein source for humans, has raised $21.5M in a Series A funding. The funding was led by Astanor Ventures, and also included Piva Capital, CJ CheilJedang, Good Friends, Bradley Horowitz (SVP of Product at Google), Trevor Martin (Founder of Mammoth Biosciences) and Chris Bryson (Founder of Unata) plus Vectr Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, eighteen94 capital (Kellogg Company's venture capital fund), FTW Ventures and Unshackled Ventures. The company says it has now raised $27M for its efforts. Plantible says it has developed a verticall integrated agricultural platform to produce proteins from Lemna, to emulate the functional characteristics of widely used animal-based proteins and enables food companies to match the taste and texture of animal-based products with more sustainable plant-based ingredients. Duckweed is already a traditional food source for people living in Southeast Asia, and also has been used as both a feed for animals and fish. (Photo: Plantible's staff) More information »