Global Food Tech Unicorn NotCo Closes $70M in Funding to Fuel New B2B Platform
Valued at $1.5B, the company is accelerating use of its proprietary AI technology as an innovation and licensing engine for other manufacturers and predicts profitability by 2024
NotCo, the fast-growing food tech company with a first-of-its-kind patented A.I. technology, Giuseppe, today announced it has closed $70M in new funding as a Series D1. The new capital will catapult the company’s new B2B Unit which will enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers to leverage Giuseppe for their own innovation purposes and exponentially accelerate the transformation of the plant-based industry. NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through retail and food service businesses nationwide.
Karim Pichara, CTO, co-founder, NotCo; Matias Muchnick, CEO, co-founder
NotCo (Photo: Business Wire)
Led by Princeville Capital, an investment firm focused on backing rapidly growing technology-related companies around the world, the Series D1 includes industry-leading existing backers, including Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions, Tiger Global, L Catterton, Kaszek Ventures, Future Positive and The Craftory. Apart from Princeville Capital, new investors to the Series D1 include Marcos Galperin, founder and CEO of the largest Latin American tech company, MercadoLibre. The new financing round was completed at the same share price of the Series D financing in July 2021, reaffirming NotCo's valuation of $1.5 billion.
Beyond its exponential growth, NotCo is best known for revolutionizing the plant-based space through its proprietary technology, which holds 12 patents in U.S. for its ability to recreate the same experience (taste, texture, functionality, and even smell) of animal-based foods, using only plant-based ingredients. NotCo has already demonstrated success in licensing its patented tech through the newly created Joint Venture, The Kraft Heinz Not Company, which was designed to reimagine global food production towards a more sustainable future by creating democratic plant-based versions of Kraft’s iconic products.
“Since day one, our mission has been to create a more sustainable world, transforming the food industry by creating delicious plant-based food available for all tables, kitchens and pantries,” said NotCo co-founder and CEO, Matias Muchnick. “Building off the example of our joint venture with Kraft Heinz, we’re excited to develop new, impactful partnerships leveraging our proprietary technology. These partnerships will help diversify and accelerate our impact while scaling the accessibility of truly delicious plant-based options to further propel the industry forward.”
Through its new B2B platform, NotCo is making its technology available for more food and beverage manufacturers seeking to create best-in-class and scalable plant-based products. In addition to delivering a superior eating experience, NotCo’s AI technology offers the added benefits of extreme accuracy and speed, cutting R&D development timelines down to mere months compared to what traditionally has taken years.
“The food industry desperately needs to adopt technology to dramatically accelerate the product development process, reduce cost and address the challenges posed by climate change. NotCo is a very unique company in the food tech space globally with immense potential thanks to the team they have built and its one-of-a-kind AI technology,” said Joaquin Rodriguez Torres, co-founder of Princeville Capital, who joins NotCo’s board of directors. “It’s rare to find a company with such an incredible track record of success in a short period of time, and we’re excited to help bolster the company’s growth and expansion.”
In 2019, the then early-stage Chilean startup got the attention of the international tech community when it became the first investment of Bezos Expedition in Latin America. Since then, NotCo has been on an upward trajectory, transforming the food industry and the plant-based food segment, forming international partnerships with Burger King, Shake Shack, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, and attracting celebrity investors like Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton and Questlove.
NotCo launched NotMilk™ in the U.S. in 2020 at Whole Foods Market, and now, its full portfolio including NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ can be found in over 10,000 stores including Costco, Sprouts, Wegmans, Fresh Direct, Amazon and more. This staggering success is also unmatched in Latin America, where the company has become the fastest-growing food tech company offering superior tasting plant-based products across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and more.
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