Cell-based fish start-up Bluu Biosciences raises €7m in seed funding

Cell-based fish start-up Bluu Biosciences has raised €7 million in a seed funding round, receiving investments from Manta Ray Ventures, CPT Capital, Lever VC, Norrsken and Be8.

Berlin-based Bluu Biosciences claims to be the first company in Europe to specialise in the development of cell-based versions of fish. The biotech start-up is focusing on the creation of cultivated versions of carp, trout and salmon, with the aim of building a more sustainable and ethical ecosystem for fish meat.

This cultivated fish is produced from fish cells that are placed within bioreactors and provided with nutrients to stimulate their growth. The resulting fish meat is thus produced without harming fish or the ecosystem, providing a nutritious protein source free from pollutants with a ‘significantly lower’ CO2, water and energy footprint than traditional fish processing.

The start-up claims that the investment will support the company’s biotechnology research and development work, as well as new product development efforts.

Sebastian Rakers, co-founder and managing director of Bluu Biosciences., said: “Cultivated fish has the potential to feed a large portion of humanity. Our task is to rapidly operationalise the findings from biotechnological research to leverage this potential.

“Bluu Biosciences has set out to produce tasty and nutrient-optimized fish products from fish cells that are free of genetic engineering, antibiotics and environmental toxins.

“Above all, that means intensive research and development work to develop the optimal fish cell lines for subsequent production. Bluu is in the excellent position of using proprietary technologies and non-GMO immortalized cell lines to achieve that.”