Producer of lab-grown kangaroo meat Vow raises $6m in seed funding

Australian cultured meat company Vow Food has secured $6 million in a seed funding round to further develop its exotic lab-grown meats.

The start-up claims to be the first company in the world to produce a food product from the cells of an undomesticated animal, with its Kangaroo Dumpling in 2019.

Since then, Vow has expanded its portfolio to include 11 different animals including standard livestock such as pork and chicken, but also more exotic fare like alpaca and water buffalo.

The oversubscribed funding round was led by Square Peg Capital and joined by existing investors Blackbird Ventures and Grok Ventures, as well as new investor Tenacious Ventures.

Vow has recently completed a new food design studio and laboratory in Sydney and has grown its team from five to 22 people in less than a year.

“There’s no doubt that cultured meat is becoming available and will soon be mainstream, as evident earlier this month with the world’s first cultured meat product approved for sale in Singapore,” said George Peppou, co-founder and CEO of Vow.

With the funding, Vow is looking to outperform meat instead of replacing it. “This is about so much more than an alternative to animal agriculture, it’s about a category of products totally distinct from, and better than, what animals are capable of producing,” added Peppou.

Tim Noakesmith, Vow’s co-founder and chief commercial officer, said: “We believe that the only way to change the behaviour of billions of people is to make many products that are simply better than what we have today.”

James Tynan at Square Peg Capital said: “In Vow, we found a team with the most audacious vision for the future of food. They’re tackling one of the biggest problems on the planet and have delivered results with less than 1% of the resources of its competitors. We’re thrilled to help them make this vision a reality.”