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Solving the World’s Biggest Challenges
by supporting the World’s Best Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Engineers

Big Idea Ventures Investment
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Who We Are

Big Idea Ventures is solving the World’s Biggest Challenges by supporting the World’s Best Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Engineers. We’re a venture capital fund with startup accelerators in key locations, investing in and accelerating top performers in the new food space.

NEW PROTEIN FUND AND ACCELERATOR

Our first fund, The New Protein Fund I (size USD$50M), is investing in the most innovative companies working on plant-based meat, seafood and dairy products, cell-based meat, seafood and dairy products, as well as ingredients and technologies that facilitate the growth of these categories. We combine capital, mentorship and a strong ecosystem of partners to support and grow the world’s most compelling plant-based and cell-based alternative protein companies. If you are a young company focused on plant-based or cell-based foods, ingredients or technologies, apply

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GENERATION FOOD RURAL PARTNERS FUND

The Generation Food Rural Partners fund commercializes university-developed intellectual property focused on food, protein, and agriculture innovation. We launch new companies, recruit seasoned management teams, and provide support from inception alongside our university and strategic partners. Our mission is to support economic development in rural communities and drive innovation in university ecosystems across the United States. If you’re interested in joining our network of university partners or strategic LPs, please contact us here.

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Our Limited Partners
We select our Limited Partners based on their leadership position and their ability to strategically contribute to our portfolio companies. We are the leader in our chosen stage and area of investment which ensures top quality deal flow and our ability to build the strongest coalition of global Limited Partners of our funds. If you are interested in investing, please reach out here.
Some of the largest multinationals, family offices and investors globally are also stakeholders in our funds.
Our Strategic Partners
We have and continue to build a consortium of trusted and valued partners that help our portfolio companies across all aspects of their business. These partners are a combination of corporate strategics, government departments, NGOs, family offices and business people who provide local and global expertise. If you have an interest in working more closely with Big Idea Ventures, contact us
New Protein Fund Accelerator
We invest USD$200K ($125K USD cash and $75K USD of in-kind value-adds) in the world’s best alternative protein companies twice per year. Over a 5 month period, we work side by side with our portfolio companies to help them prepare for massive growth and scale. Pre-Covid, our locations in New York City and Singapore allowed us to bring in world class mentors, advisors, investors, along with hungry customers. Post-Covid, we added a Paris accelerator location and have given our portfolio companies more access to global mentors and investors, providing all of our companies with the industry connections they need to make sure their products can scale to match their global ambitions.
Our cohorts begin each January and July annually, exact date TBA.

We are evaluating a combination of virtual/physical activities for our next program. To join our next cohort, apply here.

THE PROGRAM

Twice a year, we select the best alternative protein startups to undergo a rigorous 5-month accelerator program in New York City, Singapore or Paris. Through our program, we aim to help our companies break barriers on product development, scaling and distribution, market entry, channel development, pitching and fundraising. We make sure you have everything you need to succeed at scale both domestically and globally.

HOW

Having led other food accelerators, we went back to the drawing board and created a new approach to make sure you get the support you need to succeed. Our program combines capital and partnership in the form of mentor engagement, team building, peer support and access to an active network to help your company grow rapidly. Areas of focus include the whole spectrum of support for high growth food companies. Key areas of focus include those where young companies often have the toughest challenges. These areas of support include product improvement by leveraging on our in-house food scientists and also scaling production by bringing experts and partners in to support our portfolio companies.

THE DEAL

We invest USD$200K ($125K USD cash and $75K USD of in-kind services). Post-accelerator, we may invest up to USD$2.5M in our top performing companies. To join our next cohort, apply here.

EACH COMPANY RECEIVES
USD$125k Cash Investment & USD$75k
In-kind Investment
You Receive:
Office Space and Test Kitchen
We accelerate your business on both commercial and technical fronts - you get full access to our working spaces, studio and commercial kitchens, specialised laboratories and testing facilities regardless of which accelerator location you pick.
Team of Internal Experts
We have brought together a diverse team with experience leading other accelerators and strong credentials in scaling innovative food production to work hand-in-hand with you. We have team members with PhDs in Food Science and Technology who can provide technical support, as well as in-house experts on fundraising, marketing and publicity and legal issues. We empower startups via a wealth of resources, conducting weekly strategy meetings and inviting industry experts from our extensive network to hold sessions. We are invested in your success and continue our strategic support post-acceleration. Many of our companies have gained considerable traction since joining our program and raised substantial funding.
Wide Ecosystem of Connections
We currently run three accelerator programs, which gives you access to experts, mentors and alumni around the world. As you grow your business, we have the network to help you do so with impact and efficiency.
PR and Media Exposure
As the leading investor and accelerator in the alternative protein categories, we are central to the thought leadership happening daily. Take a look at our Media page and see the traction and exposure we and our portfolio companies are getting around the world.
Curated Investor Network
We have a strong ecosystem of investors in plant-based foods, cell-based foods, technologies and ingredient areas worldwide. Through introductions to investors in this ecosystem, many of our portfolio companies found the investors who participated in their six and seven figure rounds.
Discounts
Being a portfolio company under the leading investor and accelerator in plant-based and cell-based companies has its perks. We have relationships with world class service providers who want to do business with you and would offer discounts and incentives to get you onboard as customers.
Follow-on Investment
We invest up to USD$2.5M follow-on funding for our top performing companies.
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Portfolio

We will invest in the best companies, with the most innovative technologies, around the world and have already made investments in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Approximately half of our portfolio companies are led by female founders and our portfolio includes founders-of-colour as well. If you have a Minimum Viable Product in the plant-based or cell-based sector and would like support and funding, or are a later stage technology company in the food industry, apply here.

Pearlita Foods is building the future of seafood. They use cellular agriculture to sustainably and ethically grow Oysters without compromising flavour or nutrition.

Optimized Foods harnesses the form, function, and structure of mycelium to grow better, healthier foods. Using their technology platform, they are creating compelling products starting with shelf-stable boba tea and cell-cultured caviar.

Mimethica platform that combines several technologies for the forming and production of whole-cut alternatives.

No Evil Foods is a plant-based company producing clean label meat alternative products for retail and foodservice channels.

The Mushroom Meat Co. uses their patent-pending technology to make healthy, yet craveable animal-free meats from culinary-medicinal mushrooms and upcycled plant proteins. With their flexible ingredient platform, the company is addressing the need for whole-food and allergen-free meat analogs in the alternative protein market.

Alt Atlas created a machine learning bioplatform that sources functional ingredients and solutions for the alternative meat and dairy industry. Their first product is a proprietary non-GMO bovine stem cell line and a customized, community-backed service to support cultivated meat companies scale-up their production by 10X. Their vision is to be the alternative meat and dairy lighthouse and enable the industry to realistically achieve industrial production by 2030.

CF Foods Group develops CPG products that are cruelty and conflict-free, utilizing cultivated proteins as core ingredients. The first range of products is premium dog treats, a blend of cultured meat and plant-based ingredients that are better for people, the planet, and our pups. CF Foods aims to be among the first to market cultivated CPG products in both the US and Asia.

Pullulo develops microbial protein for various food applications. Their innovative protein is highly nutritious yet affordable, allergen-free, non-GMO, vegan, and Halal and is less susceptible to supply chain disruptions. Many of their products also integrate agricultural bioproducts, upcycling our waste in the process. Pullulo is targeting both the alternative protein mass market and the underserved healthcare catering and food services.

Kabocha Milk Co. unlocks the incredible health properties of Kabocha (pumpkin/squash) in ready-to-eat formats. Their first product, the award-winning Kabochamilk, is 100% vegan and free of preservatives, artificial colours & flavor, and provides 50% of your daily Vitamin A in a single serve. Co-funded by the NZ government, the team is also developing an alternative protein meat pattie from the 15,000 tonnes of imperfect grown Kabocha per year that goes to stock food; and from the waste stream of the creation of Kabocha Milk.

More Foods specializes in creating functional plant-based proteins with bioactive ingredients and innovative protein modification technology. Their products are made with a variety of plants and fungi which gives consumers an alternative to soy, and their method of formulation allows for products that are low in sodium, lightly processed, tasty and functional. All of this is achieved using environmentally friendly ingredients and a zero-waste production process.

UMAMI UNITED specializes in Japanese-inspired plant-based food using unique and innovative Japanese ingredients. Their first product - the UMAMI EGG - is made with konjac powder and has umami flavour added to it thanks to an innovative enzyme process. UMAMI strives for clean labels in their products and has made them buddhist-friendly to ensure deeper penetration of the greater China market.

Genesea produces high-quality ingredients from macro-algae for the food industry. The algal-protein is extracted from seaweeds, offering consumers a carbon-negative, arable land-free, fertilizer-free, pesticide-free, and gluten-free protein alternative. Their strong scalable technology, backed by industrial experience, three patents and dozens of scientific publications, allows them to optimize both the cultivation and the extraction parts of the business, and reach 92% biomass recovery of raw material into useful ingredients.

Mewery is the first European cell-based food tech startup developing cultivated pork on a microalgae base. Their unique technology aims to break down barriers to scaling and accelerating the cultivated meat industry. They are developing a porcine cell line for a proprietary hybrid media which doesn't require FBS and uses microalgae growth factors to lower the production costs of cultivated meat significantly.

Nutropy produces milk proteins identical to those found in cow's milk to create premium French cheeses that taste as good as conventional ones while supporting the environment, animal welfare, and human health. They harness the power of cultures to improve the taste, texture, and health benefits of their products.

Cultivated Biosciences developed a strong technology to create an ingredient that adds creaminess to plant-based dairy without the need for GMO. The creamy fat is naturally produced from the fermentation of oleaginous yeast, and can mimic dairy products on sensory and functional grounds, granting an easy ingredient swap for the food industry. The team is also able to customize the fatty acid profile and protein content of this ingredient to suit various kinds of needs for their partners in the future.

Väcka create plant-based cheeses, respecting the traditional fermentation and aging processes while adding the technologies and values of the 21st century. After eight years of intensive R&D and the use of original and innovative raw materials (such as pumpkin) as substrates, Väcka has built a strong community of consumers in Spain and plans to expand globally.

GreenGourmet Foods is recreating Indian varieties of dairy products from millets, leveraging fermentation and optimization of amino acid score and protein digestibility.

Haofood is a food science startup producing alternative chicken protein from peanut, bringing smiles to consumers' faces with their high quality whole-cut chicken.

Little Bandits is the first dairy and soy-free brand for kids in the UK. They make life easier for parents and kids: their products are always nutritious, delicious and fun. In the UK, there are an estimated 25m people identifying themselves as flexitarian, and 1 in 10 children are allergic to dairy. However, there is a lack of choice for families with kids on special diets or those looking for more sustainable brands. Little Bandits seeks to change this and their vision is to become families’ plant-based brand of choice.