Cargill invests in Memphis Meats in fundraising round
Memphis Meats announced that it has secured $17 million in a series A fundraising round led by DFJ, a venture capital firm that has previously backed Tesla, SpaceX and Skype, and including Cargill and other food industry giants.
Memphis Meats announced that it has secured $17 million in a series A fundraising round led by DFJ, a venture capital firm that has previously backed Tesla, SpaceX and Skype, and including Cargill and other food industry giants. This marks the first public commitment to the clean meat movement by top venture investors or meat industry leaders. Bill Gates and Richard Branson also invested in the round, as did Atomico, one of Europe’s largest venture capital firms.
The company has now raised $22 million to date. Memphis Meats plans to use the funds to continue developing products, to accelerate its work in scaling up clean meat production, and to reduce production costs to levels comparable to—and ultimately below—conventional meat costs. The company expects to quadruple its headcount, and has already begun growing its team of chefs, scientists, creative people, and business people.
“We are committed to growing our traditional protein business and investing in innovative new proteins to ultimately provide a complete basket of goods to our customers,” said Sonya McCullum Roberts, president of growth ventures, Cargill Protein. “Our investment in Memphis Meats is an exciting way for Cargill to explore the potential in this growing segment of the protein market. Memphis Meats has the potential to provide our customers and consumers with expanded protein choices and is aligned with our mission to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way.”