Food tech firm NotCo secures $235m in funding, valued at $1.5bn

Chilean food tech company NotCo has raised $235 million in a Series D funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion.

Founded in 2015, NotCo uses its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) technology – named Giuseppe – to develop plant-based foods.

Giuseppe’s algorithms analyse thousands of plants in its database to come up with combinations that replicate the taste, feel and functional properties of animal-based products.

NotCo’s portfolio consists of NotMilk, NotBurger, NotMeat, NotIceCream and NotMayo, which are sold in more than 6,000 retailers globally, as well as direct to consumer and through NotCo’s foodservice partnerships.

The company’s Series D funding round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from new investors including DFJ Growth Fund and Zoma Lab. Additional support came from athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician and DJ Ahmir Khalib Thompson, known as Questlove.

The round also attracted the backing of existing investors, including Bezos Expeditions, Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), Future Positive, L Catterton and Kaszek Ventures.

According to NotCo, the new funds will support its expansion into new categories in North America and the development of its AI technology, while also accelerating the company’s plans to launch in Europe and Asia.

The food tech firm has raised more than $350 million to date and the Series D round comes just one month after a ‘substantial’ investment from EHI and nine months after an $85 million Series C round.

“Our patented AI gives us a significant competitive advantage due to the speed and accuracy with which we’re able to develop and bring new products to market,” said NotCo founder and CEO, Matias Muchnick.

“The level of enthusiasm we’ve received from our partners is thrilling and humbling. We all share the same vision for Giuseppe’s ability to catapult plant-based foods into mainstream adoption at a rapid pace by focusing on taste, sustainability and infiltrating multiple categories at once.”

Scott Shleifer, partner at Tiger Global, added: “NotCo has created world class plant-based food products that are rapidly gaining market share.”

He continued: “We expect continued product innovation and expansion into new geographies and food categories will fuel high and sustainable growth for years to come.”