比爾·蓋茨與理查德·布蘭森都投資了這家人造肉初創公司

人造肉或“干凈”肉初創公司Memphis Meats在上周三上午宣布完成A輪融資，共融得1,700萬美元。到目前為止，這家公司共融資2,200萬美元。

此輪融資由風險投資公司德豐杰領投。嘉吉、比爾·蓋茨和理查德·布蘭森，以及歐洲風投基金Atomico、New Crop Capital、SOSV、Fifty Years、KBW Ventures、Inevitable Ventures、蘇茜·韋爾奇、凱爾·沃格特和卡姆巴·穆斯克等也參與了投資。另外有多家研究機構也參與了這輪融資。

Memphis Meats雖然尚未實現產品商業化，但其已經開始用動物細胞培養除牛肉、雞肉和鴨肉。這家公司用氧、糖和其他營養物質“喂養”動物活細胞，在罐子里培養出肉。

Alternative or "clean" meat startup Memphis Meats announced Wednesday morning that it has completed a $17 million Series A fundraising round. The company has now raised $22 million to date.

The round was led by venture capital firm DFJ. Cargill, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson also invested, as did European venture capital fund Atomico, New Crop Capital, SOSV, Fifty Years, KBW Ventures, Inevitable Ventures, Suzy Welch, Kyle Vogt, and Kimbal Musk. Several research institutions also joined the round.

Memphis Meats has yet to commercialize a product but has produced beef, chicken, and duck from animal cells. The company grows meat in tanks by feeding oxygen, sugar, and other nutrients to living animal cells.

除了為這家公司提供支持和資金的名人外，此輪融資對其尤為重要的是嘉吉的加入。食品行業的其他部門，如乳制品行業，一直抵制將杏仁奶等替代動物制品主流化，而嘉吉參與此輪融資，表明肉制品行業可能會做出不同的選擇。例如，泰森也投資了這個領域，其投資的是植物人造肉公司Beyond Meat。

Cargill Protein的成長風投總裁桑亞·麥卡勒姆·羅伯茨在一份聲明中表示：“我們致力于發展我們的傳統蛋白質業務和投資創新的新型蛋白質，最終為我們的客戶提供豐富的商品。Memphis Meats有潛力為我們的客戶和消費者提供更多蛋白質選擇，符合我們的使命，即以安全、負責任和可持續的方式為全世界提供營養所需?！?/p>

目前有越來越多財力雄厚的公司正在探索制作非動物性肉類，位于舊金山灣區的Memphis Meats只是其中之一。這些初創公司和投資者的動力來源于消費者對動物福利、健康和肉類環境足跡的擔憂。Memphis Meats稱其工藝占用的土地，僅有傳統畜牧業的1%，需水量僅有傳統畜牧業的10%。

Memphis Meats等公司正在嘗試復制肉類細胞的時候，另一些公司則在研究使用植物復制肉類的口味。這些植物類人造肉公司，如Impossible Foods和Beyond Meat等，也引起了投資界的廣泛興趣。例如，比爾·蓋茨便曾投資Impossible Foods。

Memphis Meats計劃將此輪融資用于產品研發、加快規?；腿藛T招聘。目前，該公司實現商業化的最大障礙之一是生產成本 — 公司表示也會在這方面投入資金。 （財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

In addition to the bold-faced names who have lent their support and dollars to the company, the round was significant for its inclusion of Cargill. While other parts of the food industry, such as dairy, have resisted the mainstreaming of animal product alternatives like almond milk, the move by Cargill shows the meat sector may be taking a different approach. Tyson, for example, has also invested in the sector, backing plant-based meat company Beyond Meat.

“We are committed to growing our traditional protein business and investing in innovative new proteins to ultimately provide a complete basket of goods to our customers,” said Sonya McCullum Roberts, president of growth ventures for Cargill Protein, in a statement. "Memphis Meats has the potential to provide our customers and consumers with expanded protein choices and is aligned with our mission to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way."

San Francisco Bay-area based Memphis Meats is part of a growing cohort of well-funded companies that are on a quest to make meat without animals. The startups and their investors are motivated by consumer concerns about animal welfare, health, and the environmental footprint of meat. Memphis Meats has said its process uses about 1% of the land and 10% of the water needed for conventional animal agriculture.

While some of the companies in the space —such as Memphis Meats — are trying to replicate meat cells, others have pursued a path to replicate the taste of meat with plants. These plant-based alternatives, such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, have also garnered significant interest from the investment community. Bill Gates, for example, has also invested Impossible Foods.

Memphis Meats plans to use the funds for product development, to speed up its scaling, and for staffing. Right now, one of the significant hurdles to commercialization is cost of production—something the company said it would also put the funds toward.