Biomaterials firm secures $10m in Series A round

Modern Meadow, a company that uses bioengineering methods to grow meat and leather products in labs, has closed its Series A fundraising round.

The round, led by Horizon Ventures, totalled $10 million in commitments. The company is not currently seeking further investment.

New York-based Modern Meadow has previously secured funding from Sequoia Capital, Artis Ventures, Iconiq Capital and Peter Thiel’s Breakout Labs, with support from Singularity University’s Labs programme, according to a press release.

Modern Meadow intends to use the new investment for further research and development, for product development and to finance the opening of a new research centre in Brooklyn, New York.

In the press release, the company’s founder and chief executive Andras Forgacs explained the motivation behind Modern Meadow’s approach. “Our goal is to develop new cultured leather materials with advantages in design, performance, sustainability and animal welfare,” he said. “In the longer term, we are also developing meat products that are healthier, safer and don’t require harming animals or the environment,” he added.

The company looks to have found the ideal investment partner in Horizon Ventures. “We were looking for investors who back disruptive technologies, who are experienced in supporting the growth [of their portfolio companies], and we were tremendously impressed by the people we met at Horizon Ventures,” Sarah Sclarsic, Modern Meadow’s business director, told Agri Investor.

Horizon Ventures, who have invested into other disruptive technologies projects such as Facebook and Hampton Creek, recognised the significance of Modern Meadow’s innovation. “We are delighted to partner with Modern Meadow whose truly innovative and disruptive solutions together with its increasing cost effectiveness can help address global resources challenges,” said Bart Swanson of Horizon Ventures in the press release.