From Fortune, Jan. 29:
Tyson Foods Has Invested in a Startup That Aims to Eradicate Meat from Live Animals
Alternative or “clean” meat startup Memphis Meats is on a mission to eradicate protein sourced from livestock.Here are the Tyson press releases:
But this morning the Silicon Valley-based company announced an investment from just the type of company it’s trying to disrupt: Tyson Foods, one of the world’s biggest meat producers.
Tyson, which produces about one in five pounds of chicken, beef, and pork in the U.S., invested in Memphis through its venture capital arm. It joins the likes of Cargill, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Atomico, and DFJ. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Memphis said the funding will go toward research and development and expanding the Memphis team.
Memphis Meats co-founder and CEO Uma Valeti told Fortune that he has intentionally pursued a wide range of investors that represent different parts of the food and financial ecosystem. “We want to continue building alliances and being inclusive,” he says. “Taking a divisive approach in this is not going to be helpful for us as well as everyone else.”
In the case of the investments from Tyson and Cargill, Valeti noted that Memphis will benefit from their deep knowledge of meat distribution. “They really understand how to scale up,” he says. “They’ll help us learn a lot about getting meat on the shelf.”
Tyson CEO and president Tom Hayes acknowledged in a post on the company’s site that the investment “might seem counterintuitive,” including “to some inside our company.”
But he explained that in a world with a ballooning population and where the No. 1 thing consumers say they want in their diet is protein, companies like Tyson will have to figure out how to answer these demands in a sustainable way.
Tyson has also backed Beyond Meat, which is attempting to replicate the taste of meat with plants. Memphis, meanwhile, is trying to create meat by growing it from animal cells....MORE
Tyson Foods Invests in Cultured Meat with Stake in Memphis Meats
Why We Are Investing in Alternative Proteins
Previously on cultured protein:
Dealflow: "New Investors Flock To Food"
"Silicon Valley and the Search for Meatless Meat"
"Where’s The Beef? China Signs $300 Million Deal with Israel to Import ‘Lab Meat’"
Bill Gates Invests In Another Lab-Grown Meat Company
"Bill Gates headlines an all-star list of investors pumping $75 million into meatless burgers"
Mr. Gates also partnered with Li Ka-Shing and Khosla on Hampton Creek which is attempting to pivot from Just Mayo into laboratory-grown 'meat'.*"Mayo-scandal firm Hampton Creek from San Francisco going whole hog for Frankenmeat: report"
Just Mayo Guy, Hampton Creek's Josh Tetrick, Pivots to Industrial Scale Ingredient Supply Biz
Hampton Creek: Remember All Our Vegetarian Talk? Never Mind
Questions America Wants Answered: Is Eating Lab Grown Human Flesh Cannibalism?
"People buying meat from strangers on social media is a serious problem"
Seven Startups Creating Lab-Grown Meat
