DeepTech Startup sallea raises €2.38M to Assist Producers of Sustainable Meat in Speeding up the Production of Lab-Grown Meat

Zurich-based female-founded DeepTech startup sallea has raised €2.38 million in a pre-seed fundraising round to assist producers of sustainable meat in speeding up the production of premium entire cuts, such as filets and steaks, without resorting to animal breeding. The inventive edible scaffolds that sallea’s team has developed hold the potential to fully realize the potential of cellular agriculture.

With assistance from Kost Capital, Founderful led the pre-seed funding round. Building on the $1.8M in non-dilutive funding previously obtained through research and start-up grants, this pre-seed round represents sallea’s first equity investment.

The company’s technology allows for the construction of precisely shaped, edible, and porous 3D grids, or “scaffolds” which act as the substrate for the cultivation of textured complete pieces of fish and meat. Producers introduce these scaffolds into cell-filled bioreactors. After adhering to sallea’s scaffolding, these cells will develop into complete cuts in three dimensions, enhancing the final product’s texture and nutritional makeup. Producers of farmed foods will now have the ability to customize the nutritional composition of their scaffolds in addition to their size and form to the final product.

According to Simona Fehlmann, CEO and co-founder of sallea:

“Meat mince and sausages have been the only foods that have been cultivated. Our technology has the potential to revolutionize cellular agriculture by shortening the time to market and reducing the production costs for cultivated whole cuts like steaks and fillets. With this fundraising round, we can continue to work toward our goal of being the industry leader in cellular agriculture’s edible scaffold market. We may now increase our production capacity, form joint ventures to develop products, and intensify our development work.”

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Although the sector has primarily focused on low-margin, unstructured products like sausages, cellular agriculture offers a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to traditional animal farming, potentially reducing emissions by up to 90%, such as in beef production. By addressing this issue, sallea’s scaffolds enable the industry to reach the market more quickly.

The cellular agriculture sector is facing a critical moment with the release of sallea’s technology. Scaffolds in particular are becoming more acknowledged as a complex yet crucial component as the industry moves from fully integrated value chains to an ecosystem where specialized components like cell medium and scaffolds are supplied outside. Growers are actively looking to collaborate with businesses that offer these specialized solutions.

sallea intends to use this additional financing to launch pilot projects with developing businesses across the world and expedite product development. The company wants to be the top supplier of scaffolds, hastening the shift to animal protein production that is more environmentally friendly. As sallea expands, the team actively pursues its vision to become the leading source of safe, cruelty-free, and sustainable meat and fish production, addressing the demand in cellular agriculture.

Investors Thoughts:

Antonia Albert, Principal at Founderful, said:

“sallea unlocks the potential of cultivated meat, paving the way for a sustainable, cruelty-free future. In light of the projected $370B value of the farmed meat market by 2030, we are excited to collaborate with Simona, Anna, and Nicole as they transform the food landscape.”

Robin Matthew continued, CEO of Elsa-Group:

“While the potential of cellular agriculture is clear, scaling it effectively demands not only capital and expertise but also innovative solutions like sallea’s, which enable the production of high-quality products that can accelerate the path to price parity and fully satisfy consumer expectations.”

Bodil Sidén, General Partner at Kost Capital, stated:

“At Kost, we are passionate about providing better food for more people, and we’re proud to be backing sallea. Additionally, sallea is positioned for success with innovative technology meant to establish a new benchmark in sustainable meat production, along with strong leadership from Simona, Anna, and Nicole.”

Image Credit: sallea