Imagindairy, Ltd., a FoodTech company creating milk proteins identical to those from cows, completed a $13M seed round. The funding was led by MoreVC, a leading seed stage investor in Israel managing $275M across three funds. Also joining this round: Strauss Group, Entrée Capital, S2G Ventures; Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures; Emerald Technology Ventures and Pierre Besnainou. This round includes a pre-seed investment by Strauss Group, FoodSparks by PeakBridge, CPT Capital, and Entrée Capital earlier this year.
Imagindairy is milking new technology to leave the cow out of the dairy equation. With natural precision fermentation, the company creates true milk proteins that are indistinguishable from the real thing. Imagindairy’s proprietary technology, based on a systems and synthetic biology platform, allows manufacturers to offer cow-free, sustainable milk and dairy products with all the nutritional values of dairy milk.
Imagindairy’s technology is based on 15 years of research led by its co-founder and CSO, Tamir Tuller, PhD, a professor at Tel Aviv University. The company mission was to create a commercially viable, guilt-free experience of traditional dairy products consumers crave. The company will invest the funds in expanding its facilities, increasing its professional team, and boosting its R&D capacity to meet the demands of its partners.
Imagindairy feeds microorganisms instead of cows, and the select microorganisms the company employs are up to 20 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into food. This offers food system resilience, allows for complete sustainability, preserves the natural ecosystem, and promotes animal welfare. It also eliminates the greenhouse gas emissions produced by dairy cows. The result: highly functional milk proteins that taste great and have the same texture, flavor, and nutritional value as milk from cows.
