If you're building a plant-based, cultivated meat, or fermentation company, here are 15 investors who closed deals in the last two years. Most of these funds understand bioreactor economics and FDA approval timelines. Some don't.
Quick list
Lever VC: Led Redefine Meat's $135M Series B in 2024 and backs 30+ companies across Europe.
Big Idea Ventures: Runs accelerators in NYC and Singapore, invested in Meati's $100M+ round last year.
Agronomics: Public company on London Stock Exchange with 35 portfolio companies including Aleph Farms and Meatable.
CPT Capital: Asia-focused fund that backed Avant Meats and Good Meat's Singapore facility.
S2G Ventures: $2B fund that invested in Perfect Day's $350M round and multiple Meati rounds.
Lux Capital: Deep-tech investor behind UPSIDE Foods' $400M Series C and their California facility.
Khosla Ventures: Early Impossible Foods backer, led Wildtype's $100M Series B for cultivated salmon in 2024.
Blue Horizon: Swiss fund with $500M AUM that backed v2food and Aleph Farms.
Temasek: Singapore sovereign fund behind Eat Just's $200M+ rounds in 2023-2024.
New Crop Capital: Vegan-focused VC that invested in NotCo's $235M Series D.
Paulson & Co: Hedge fund that put $50M into Motif FoodWorks last year.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates fund backing UPSIDE Foods and Neutral Foods.
ADM Ventures: Corporate VC from Archer Daniels Midland, backed Air Protein's $32M Series A in 2024.
Fall Line Capital: Growth fund that led MyForest Foods' $35M round for mushroom bacon.
Synthesis Capital: Plant-based specialist behind Daring Foods' $65M Series C.
Picking the right investor
Experience: Find investors who've backed companies through FDA submissions or EFSA approvals. Ask their portfolio companies about help during regulatory review.
Network: Check if they can intro you to co-manufacturers, retail buyers, or ingredient suppliers. That matters more than brand-name recognition.
Alignment: Fermentation investors often don't understand cultivated meat burn rates. Make sure they've funded similar technologies before.
Track record: Look at whether their portfolio companies raised follow-on rounds. Dead portfolio companies are a red flag.
Communication: Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see which investors actually open your financial projections vs. just skimming the intro.
Value-add: Ask what operational support they provide during scale-up. Generic "we have a great network" answers are useless.
How to approach them
Identify potential investors: Research recent deals on Pitchbook or Crunchbase. Seed funds won't lead your Series B, no matter how good your deck is.
Craft a compelling pitch: Show cost-per-kg trends and production milestones. Most investors are tired of sustainability claims without unit economics.
Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on—if they skip your bioreactor data, that's useful information.
Utilize your network: Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about response times and actual value-add. Most will be honest.
Attend networking events: Good Food Conference and Future Food-Tech are where deals actually happen. Skip the small local events.
Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you've been introduced. Cold DMs rarely work.
Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your financial model, cap table, and supply agreements before they ask. It speeds up the process.
Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your tech (novel cell lines, proprietary strains, or formulation IP). Don't waste 20 minutes on market size slides they've seen 100 times.
Why this matters now
UPSIDE Foods and Good Meat got FDA approval in 2023-2024. Singapore and Israel have clear regulatory paths. Precision fermentation hit cost parity with dairy proteins in some applications. The sector pulled $2B+ from 2023-2024, but that's down from 2021 peaks. Investors are more selective now and care about production milestones over pitch decks.
Investor profiles
Lever VC
Europe's biggest dedicated alt-protein fund. They understand the technical challenges and don't panic when fermentation yields miss targets by 20%.
- Recent Deals: Redefine Meat $135M Series B (2024), Aqua Cultured Foods $6M Series A (2024), Formo €50M Series B (2023)
- LinkedIn: Lever VC LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated meat, fermentation, plant-based ingredients, aquaculture
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed to Series B
- Location: London, UK
- Website: lever.vc
Big Idea Ventures
They run accelerators so expect hands-on involvement. Good for first-time founders who need operational help.
- Recent Deals: Meati Foods $100M+ Series C (2024), TurtleTree $30M Series A (2023), Change Foods $15M Series A (2024)
- LinkedIn: Big Idea Ventures LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Plant-based meat, cultivated dairy, fermentation, mycelium
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: New York, USA
- Website: bigideaventures.com
Agronomics
Public company so you can see their portfolio performance on financial statements. More patient capital than typical VCs.
- Recent Deals: Aleph Farms $105M Series B (2023), Meatable $47M Series B (2023), Mosa Meat €85M Series B (2023)
- LinkedIn: Agronomics LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated meat, cultivated seafood, animal-free dairy, leather
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: London, UK
- Website: agronomics.im
CPT Capital
Knows Asia-Pacific regulatory pathways. Critical if you're targeting Singapore, Hong Kong, or China markets first.
- Recent Deals: Avant Meats $10M Series A (2023), Good Meat Singapore $120M (2024), Shiok Meats Series A (2023)
- LinkedIn: CPT Capital LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated seafood, plant-based meat, fermentation
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: Singapore
- Website: cptcap.com
S2G Ventures
$2B fund focused on food and agriculture. They move slower than typical VCs but write bigger checks.
- Recent Deals: Meati Foods multiple rounds (2023-2024), Perfect Day $350M Series D (2023), Nature's Fynd $120M Series C (2023)
- LinkedIn: S2G Ventures LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Mycelium, fermentation, plant-based ingredients, aquaculture
- Stage Focus: Series A to Growth
- Location: Chicago, USA
- Website: s2gventures.com
Lux Capital
Deep-tech fund that understands bioprocess engineering. They won't freak out when your Series A takes 18 months.
- Recent Deals: UPSIDE Foods $400M Series C (2024), Helaina $20M Series A (2024), Renegade Foods Series A (2023)
- LinkedIn: Lux Capital LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated meat, fermentation, bioprocess tech
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series C
- Location: New York, USA
- Website: luxcapital.com
Khosla Ventures
Early-stage tech investor with Impossible Foods track record. They bet on technical breakthroughs, not incremental improvements.
- Recent Deals: Wildtype $100M Series B (2024), Impossible Foods multiple rounds, UPSIDE Foods early rounds
- LinkedIn: Khosla Ventures LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated seafood, plant-based meat, fermentation
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: Menlo Park, USA
- Website: khoslaventures.com
Blue Horizon
Impact fund targeting elimination of animal agriculture. They care about mission alignment and will ask about your theory of change.
- Recent Deals: v2food $72M Series B (2023), Aleph Farms Series B (2023), Planted €72M Series B (2023)
- LinkedIn: Blue Horizon LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Plant-based meat, cultivated meat, animal-free dairy, egg alternatives
- Stage Focus: Series A to Growth
- Location: Zurich, Switzerland
- Website: blue-horizon.com
Temasek
Sovereign wealth fund with long time horizons. Expect thorough diligence and focus on food security angles.
- Recent Deals: Eat Just $200M Series H (2024), Perfect Day Series D (2023), Shiok Meats Series A (2023)
- LinkedIn: Temasek LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated meat, fermentation, plant-based eggs
- Stage Focus: Series C to Growth
- Location: Singapore
- Website: temasek.com.sg
New Crop Capital
Vegan fund that prioritizes animal welfare mission. If you're not mission-aligned, don't waste their time.
- Recent Deals: NotCo $235M Series D (2023), JUST Egg Asia expansion (2023-2024), Rebellyous Foods $9.5M Series B (2024)
- LinkedIn: New Crop Capital LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Plant-based meat, egg alternatives, dairy alternatives, seafood
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: newcropcapital.com
Paulson & Co
Hedge fund making concentrated bets. They invest large amounts but in fewer companies than typical VCs.
- Recent Deals: Motif FoodWorks $50M (2024), Nature's Fynd Series C (2023)
- LinkedIn: Paulson & Co LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Fermentation, ingredient platforms, bioprocess tech
- Stage Focus: Series B to Growth
- Location: New York, USA
- Website: paulsonco.com
Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Bill Gates climate fund focused on emissions reduction. You'll need strong carbon footprint analysis in your deck.
- Recent Deals: Neutral Foods $10M Series A (2024), UPSIDE Foods production funding (2024), Pivot Bio $430M (2023)
- LinkedIn: Breakthrough Energy Ventures LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Cultivated meat, carbon-negative protein, fermentation
- Stage Focus: Series A to Series C
- Location: Seattle, USA
- Website: breakthroughenergy.org
ADM Ventures
Corporate VC from a major ingredient supplier. They can offer pilot-scale fermentation trials and distribution partnerships.
- Recent Deals: Air Protein $32M Series A (2024), Myco Technology multiple rounds (2022-2023), Sundial Foods Series A (2023)
- LinkedIn: ADM Ventures LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Fermentation, plant-based ingredients, mycelium, gas fermentation
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: Chicago, USA
- Website: adm.com/ventures
Fall Line Capital
Growth equity for consumer brands. They care about retail velocity and DTC metrics more than bioreactor specs.
- Recent Deals: MyForest Foods $35M Series B (2024), The Meatless Farm Series B (2023), Rebellyous Foods (2024)
- LinkedIn: Fall Line Capital LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Plant-based meat brands, mycelium, retail products
- Stage Focus: Series B to Growth
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: falllinecapital.com
Synthesis Capital
Plant-based consumer brand specialist. They help with retail partnerships and DTC growth but won't understand your fermentation tech.
- Recent Deals: Daring Foods $65M Series C (2024), Actual Veggies Series A (2023), Simulate $50M Series B (2023)
- LinkedIn: Synthesis Capital LinkedIn
- Sector Focus: Plant-based chicken, plant-based seafood, ready-to-eat
- Stage Focus: Series A to Series C
- Location: Los Angeles, USA
- Website: synthesiscapital.com
Final thoughts
These 15 alternative protein investors closed deals from 2023-2025. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links and see who actually reads your fermentation yield data or cost-per-kg projections. Focus on production milestones over market size slides. Most investors have seen the "trillion-dollar protein market" slide 500 times and don't care anymore. Show them you can hit price parity with conventional protein and have a clear regulatory path.
