ProFuse Technology received $1.25M from Fresh Start FoodTech Incubator
The company's technology, which stems from research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, is based on the optimized differentiation and fusion of muscle cells, which enhances the production capacity of cultured meat and reduces its price
ProFuse Technology was established by Fresh Start FoodTech in the north of Israel, is supported by The Israeli Innovation Authority, and is operated by the Tnuva, Israel's leading food company, Tempo, a leading beverage company, OurCrowd's investment platform and the global Agrifood VC, Finistere Ventures. The company's unique expertise is the optimization of the differentiation and fusion stage of cultured meat, which accounts for 50% of its production costs.
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The company developed a novel and exceptionally efficient solution, which reduces production time and enhances the production capacity of cultured meat by accelerating muscle fiber growth.
The company's solutions and additives reduce the number of required production cycles, enhance the meat production in each cycle, improve the quality of the muscle fibers, and increase protein content. This results in a 40% reduction in cultured meat production costs and is expected to impact the quality of produced meat cuts.
The company is well-positioned to provide significant value to cultured meat companies, and to promote their goal of achieving price parity for traditionally grown meat.
The company's technology relies on a 6-year research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was led by Professor Eldad Tzahor, a world-known expert in developmental biology and cell regeneration, Dr. Ori Avinoam, who specializes in cell fusion and tissue forming, and Dr. Tamar Eigler, an expert in stem cell biology. The company has initiated its operations in June 2021 under the leadership of Dr. Tamar Eigler Hirsch (CTO) and Mr. Guy N. Michrowski (CEO).
The company's founders' extensive academic record is now geared to advance one of today's most promising and highly-invested foodtech fields – cultured meat.
Dr. Tammy Meiron, Fresh Start FoodTech Incubator CTO: "ProFuse responds to one of the most significant challenges concerning cultured meat companies today, and is an important enabling technology. Fresh Start is proud to take part in the important process of recruiting Biotech technologies and turning them to startup companies that will promote a sustainable food industry."
Dr. Opher Shapira, CEO, Yeda (Weizmann's technology transfer company): "ProFuse is yet another promising foodtech company coming out of the Weizmann Institute of Science. We are excited about the cooperation with Fresh Start in taking the work of the team in Weizmann led by Professor Tzahor to the next stage in the road to develop cultured meat."
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