While volunteering in a Syrian refugee camp, stem cell biologist Deniz Kent saw what climate change could do to humanity at a massively greater scale. He co-founded Prolific Machines with Max Huisman and Declan Jones to address a top source of greenhouse gas emissions: livestock.

Prime Roots, which makes deli-style plant-based meats from koji mycelium, announced $30 million in Series B funding to bring its first-of-its-kind Koji-Meat to more deli counters and grocery shelves across the U.S. Prime Roots makes whole cut, plant-based using koji mycelium. At a microscopic level, koji mycelium mimics the texture of meat—and its umami mouthfeel—providing […]

Shake Shack just expanded its dairy-free milkshakes and custards (made in partnership with NotCo) to all 260 locations in the US. NotCo’s AI “Giuseppe” analyzes the product structure of foods at the molecular level and then replicates it using only plant-based ingredients. Giuseppe has the ability to find matches in flavor, texture, nutrition and functionality, among […]

“It’s really important to understand the distinction between what it is to build a business, and what it is to build a research program.” SOSV GP and IndieBio CTO Pae W recently took the stage with Brian Heater at TechCrunch Early Stage to share her insights on how to turn research into a business—and why potential founders should consider leaving the “safety” of […]

In this third edition of our list, published yearly to mark Earth Day, we highlight the companies in our portfolio that demonstrated the most momentum and greatest potential impact on decarbonization.

Gilberto Loureiro grew up inspecting fabrics in a Portuguese textile factory. With Smartex, he and co-founders Antonio Rocha and Paulo Ribeiro are eliminating textile defects—and their enormous cost both to manufacturers and the environment. 

Lithium-ion batteries are technologically difficult and expensive to recycle—which is why 95% of batteries end up in a landfill and new battery production depends on environmentally costly lithium mining. Green Li-ion (HAX 2020) has pioneered a solution, and just raised fresh capital to expand its delivery to customers around the globe. The Singapore-based provider of […]

Shrimp shell-based “leather” maker TômTex (IndieBio NY03) was recently the subject of two feature articles from Bloomberg and WIRED.  TômTex turns raw chitosan—a biopolymer that makes up crustacean shells, mushroom cell walls, and insect exoskeletons—into a viscous liquid that can be dyed, molded, stamped, and 3D printed. The final product can act as a one-to-one […]

Chemical membrane company SepPure Technologies recently closed a $12M Series A led by SOSV, with participation from Anji Microelectronics, RealTech Fund, Seeds Capital, EPS Ventures, and others.  With traditional gas-based distillation, oils are extracted and purified from their source (a seed, fiber, or other organic material) by heating the source in solvent to separate it […]

Plant-based meat maker Planetarians (IndieBio Food-X 08) has closed a $6M seed II round led by Mindrock, which was covered by TechCrunch (“Planetarians grabs $6M to get its plant-based protein into foodservice orbit”). The funding round, which brings Planetarians’ total funding to date to $6.7M, also included SOSV, Traction Fund, Techstars, and AB InBev, which […]