Oct 6, 2022

Gourmey, a Paris-based startup pioneering cultivated meat company, has raised €48M in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Earlybird Venture Capital. Other participating investors include Amsterdam-based Keen Venture Partners and Instacart CEO Fidji Simo and existing investors, including Heartcore Capital, Point Nine Capital, Air Street Capital, Partech, and Beyond Investing. The new funding round also includes participation from Paris-based Omnes Capital and Eutopia, Berlin-based Discovery, Singapore-based Thia Ventures, and support from public institutions, including Bpifrance (French public investment bank). How will the funding be used? The funds will enable Gourmey to open a 46,000-square-foot commercial production facility and R&D center in Paris, Europe’s largest cultivated meat hub to manufacture to fast-track commercialisation globally. The company will also triple its 40+ world-class team and expand its product portfolio in collaboration with chefs, culinary partners, and food distributors. The company has raised €56M in financing to date. “Food is the single strongest lever we can act as individuals to slow down climate change. So today, we are thrilled to see our vision of a more sustainable food system come to life as we move from R&D to production and commercialization with the building of one of the largest cultivated meat plants”, said Gourmey co-founder & CEO Nicolas Morin-Forest. Cultivated meat production Founded in 2019 by Nicolas Morin-Forest, Victor Sayous, and Antoine Davydoff, Gourmey’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition toward more ethical, sustainable and healthy meat. The French company creates sustainable culinary-grade meats from real animal cells with an initial focus on premium meats. Gourmey operates similar to Evolved Meats , Beyond Meat , Planted , Upside Foods and more. According to the company, cultivated meat production consumes significantly less land and water and could cut the climate impact of meat production by up to 92%. Gourmey’s first-of-its-kind cultivated meat hub and commercial production facility are set to welcome 120 engineers, culinary experts, and operators by 2024. It will have a planned annual production capacity of tens of thousands of pounds of high-quality cultivated meats, starting with its flagship product: slaughter-free foie gras. Gourmey’s products have already convinced Michelin-starred chefs and leading meat distributors globally. “The next few months and years are going to be immensely pivotal and exciting not only for Gourmey but more broadly for cultivated meat and sustainable foods,” says Nicolas Morin-Forest. This is the first deal in France since Earlybird opened its physical office in Paris – demonstrating a strong interest in investing there. “Gourmey is well positioned to become a global winner and lead the paradigm shift towards a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food supply chain. The company’s exceptional team has demonstrated how so-called frontier technology’s bottlenecks can be overcome at record speed”, says Christian Nagel, Partner & Co-Founder at Earlybird Venture Capital. “As early supporters, we have been consistently impressed with Gourmey’s achievements in a short time. We are excited to double down and support their world-class team as they take meat alternatives to culinary heights”, says Yacine Ghalim, Partner at Heartcore Capital. “Gourmey has developed its breakthrough products rapidly and with greater capital efficiency than its peers’ thanks to the team’s immense ingenuity in stem cell, bioprocess engineering, and food sciences. Their approach is generalisable to diverse mammalian tissues and huge scales, which charts a clear path to becoming a platform food company”, says Nathan Benaich, General Partner at Air Street Capital.