Which startups have raised the most funding in the alternative protein market?

Last updated: 7 September 2026

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market research pitch 2026 statistics alternative protein market

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This database tracks the most funded startups in the alternative protein market, ranked by the cumulative amount of capital each company has raised.

We update the list every month so that new financing rounds, acquisitions, shutdowns, IPO activity, and other important changes are reflected as quickly as possible.

The ranking covers companies across plant-based foods, cultivated meat and seafood, precision fermentation, mycoprotein, and other technologies creating alternatives to conventional animal proteins.

And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the alternative protein market.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded alternative protein startup Impossible Foods, $1.7B
Second most funded alternative protein startup Oatly, at least $1.3B
Largest funding round Oatly, $1.1B IPO in May 2021
Median funding $35M
Share of funding captured by the top 10 Approximately 60%
Median time since last round Approximately 3.3 years
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 14 with latest rounds dated October 2025 or later
Alternative protein startups with at least $100M raised 23
Median number of funding rounds 3 rounds
Total capital represented in the ranking At least $12.7B
Chart showing annual venture capital investment in alternative protein startups

This chart, featured in our alternative protein market deck, shows annual venture capital investment in alternative protein startups

Top startups in the alternative protein market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the alternative protein market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type (e.g. Series A, equity financing), key investors, the startup’s current status (active, IPO, acquired, or shut down), and a confidence score based on the data collected (we excluded startups with very low data confidence, to make sure everything is reliable).

If you're interested in knowing how much these startups are worth, you can check our list of the top startups in the alternative protein market ranked by valuation.

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Impossible Foods Plant-based meat alternatives $1.7B 8 November 2021 $500M Series H / Growth Mirae Asset Global Investments Active Full
2 Oatly Oat-based dairy alternatives ≥$1.3B 5 May 2021 $1.1B IPO Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse IPO Partial
3 Perfect Day Fermentation-made animal-free dairy proteins $801M 7 November 2023 $90M Pre-Series E SK Inc., Horizons Ventures, Temasek Active Partial
4 Beyond Meat Plant-based meat products $716M 12 October 2025 $200M ATM Equity Offering Public-market investors IPO Strong
5 Eat Just Plant-based eggs and foods $612M 9 September 2023 $16M Growth Equity Ahimsa Foundation, VegInvest Active Partial
6 UPSIDE Foods Cultivated meat from animal cells $608M 6 April 2022 $400M Series C Temasek, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, SoftBank Active Strong
7 LIVEKINDLY Collective Global plant-based food brand collective $535M 2 March 2021 $335M Growth / Series C The Rise Fund, Rabo Corporate Investments, S2G Ventures Active Full
8 Nature's Fynd Fermented fungi protein foods $463M 3 July 2021 $350M Series C SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Blackstone, Hillhouse Active Full
9 NotCo AI-designed plant-based foods $433M 6 December 2022 $70M Series D1 Princeville Capital Active Full
10 Believer Meats Cultivated chicken, beef and lamb $390M 4 December 2021 $347M Series B extension ADM/Cibus Fund, Menora Mivtachim, S2G Investments Shutdown Full
11 Meati Mycelium-based whole-cut meat alternatives $355M 6 May 2024 $100M Series C-1 Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Prelude Ventures, BOND Acquired Strong
12 Motif FoodWorks Technologies improving plant-based foods ≥$344M 4 May 2022 Undisclosed Series C / Venture FootPrint Coalition Ventures Shutdown Strong
13 Califia Farms Plant-based beverages and creamers ≥$325M 3 January 2020 $225M Series D Qatar Investment Authority, Temasek, Claridge Active Strong
14 The EVERY Company Precision-fermented egg proteins $287M 5 November 2025 $55M Series D McWin Capital, Main Sequence, Bloom8 Active Partial
15 Ripple Foods Pea-protein dairy alternatives $273M 6 November 2023 $49M Venture Equity Undisclosed investors Active Strong
16 Aleph Farms Cultivated whole-cut beef steaks $196M 6 March 2025 $29M Series C / Equity Peregrine Ventures, Cargill, L Catterton Active Strong
17 Redefine Meat 3D-structured plant-based meat alternatives $170M 3 January 2022 $135M Series B Hanaco Ventures, Synthesis Capital Active Full
18 Mosa Meat Cultivated beef and burgers $163M 9 December 2025 $18M Growth / Extension Invest-NL, LIOF, PHW Group Active Partial
19 Remilk Precision-fermented animal-free dairy proteins ≥$151M 4 November 2025 $20M Series C / Venture Tau Capital, Avishag Bohbot Active Partial
20 v2food Australian plant-based meat producer ≥$132M 4 August 2025 Undisclosed Corporate Equity Ajinomoto Active Strong
21 Wildtype Cultivated salmon and seafood $116M 3 February 2022 $100M Series B L Catterton, Temasek, Bezos Expeditions Active Full
22 Daring Foods Plant-based chicken alternatives $114M 4 October 2021 $65M Series C Founders Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Naomi Osaka Acquired Partial
23 ENOUGH Large-scale fermented mycoprotein ≥$103M 5 February 2024 Undisclosed Series C extension Cargill Active Strong
24 Planted Foods Biostructured plant-based whole-cut meats $96M 3 September 2022 $71M Series B L Catterton, Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food Active Strong
25 Meatable Cultivated pork and beef ≥$93M 5 November 2024 Undisclosed Series B extension Betagro Ventures Shutdown Strong
26 The Protein Brewery Fermented whole-food fungal protein $82M 3 June 2026 $21M Series B extension ABN AMRO SIF, Invest-NL, Novo Holdings Active Strong
27 Gathered Foods Develops plant-based seafood proteins ≥$82M 6 April 2021 $26M Series B2 Louis Dreyfus Company, Unovis, Big Idea Ventures Active Strong
28 Kite Hill Almond-based dairy alternatives $80M 6 August 2019 $2M Series C-II Undisclosed investors Active Partial
29 Heura Foods Mediterranean plant-based meat and fish $71M 5 February 2024 $43M Series B Upfield, ECBF, Unovis Asset Management Active Partial
30 Infinite Roots Fermented mushroom mycelium foods $70M 3 January 2024 $58M Series B Dr. Hans Riegel Holding, EIC Fund, REWE Active Full
31 Steakholder Foods 3D-printed alternative protein technology $67M 10 October 2025 $1M PIPE Undisclosed investor(s) IPO Strong
32 Miyoko's Creamery Plant-based cheese and butter ≥$66M 5 May 2022 $7M Growth Equity Obvious Ventures, GroundForce Capital Acquired Partial
33 MyForest Foods Mycelium-based whole-cut meat alternatives $66M 4 February 2024 $4M Series A-3 AiiM Partners, Ecovative Active Strong
34 BlueNalu Cultivated premium seafood $64M 4 December 2025 $6M Preferred Equity Agronomics, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, Siddhi Capital Active Strong
35 SIMULATE Plant-based chicken nuggets and meat $61M 3 June 2021 $50M Series B Seven Seven Six, Imaginary Ventures, McCain Foods Acquired Full
36 Gourmey Cultivated premium poultry and foie gras $58M 2 October 2022 $48M Series A Earlybird Venture Capital, Keen Venture Partners, Heartcore Capital Active Strong
37 Vow Cultivated novel animal meats $56M 3 November 2022 $49M Series A Blackbird Ventures, Prosperity7 Ventures, Square Peg Active Full
38 Onego Bio Fermentation-made animal-free egg protein $54M 3 July 2024 $13M Series A Extension EIC Fund, Newtree Impact Active Partial
39 Formo Precision fermented dairy alternatives $50M 4 2024 Undisclosed Extension Synthesis Capital, Lowercarbon Capital Active Strong
40 Eclipse Foods Dairy alternatives from plants $46M 3 2022 $30M Series A Samara Capital, Forerunner Ventures Active Strong
41 Standing Ovation Precision-fermented animal-free casein $45M 3 March 2026 $29M Series B Bpifrance, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Danone Ventures Active Strong
42 THIS UK hyper-realistic plant-based meats $44M 5 June 2024 $25M Series C Planet First Partners Active Partial
43 NxtFood French plant-based foods under ACCRO $41M 2 September 2025 $29M Growth Equity Creadev, Roquette Ventures, Clay Capital Active Strong
44 Future Farm Plant-based meat alternatives $40M 2 2021 $20M Growth Equity BTG Pactual, existing investors Active Strong
45 Ivy Farm Technologies Cultivated beef and meat technology $39M 2 April 2022 $31M Series A University of Oxford, Oxford University Innovation Active Strong
46 Finless Foods Cultivated and plant-based seafood $38M 2 March 2022 $34M Series B Hanwha Solutions, At One Ventures, SOSV Active Partial
47 New Culture Animal-free mozzarella fermentation technology $37M 5 March 2025 $5M Series A Extension SOSV, IndieBio Active Strong
48 Revyve Upcycled functional yeast proteins $37M 2 September 2025 $28M Series B ABN AMRO SIF, Invest-NL, BOM Active Full
49 Prime Roots Koji-based meat alternatives $35M 3 May 2023 $30M Series B Top Tier Capital Partners, Monde Nissin Active Full
50 Uncommon RNA-enabled cultivated meat technology $35M 3 June 2023 $30M Series A Balderton Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Redalpine Acquired Strong
51 Vivici Precision-fermented dairy protein ingredients ≥$34M 2 February 2025 $34M Series A APG/ABP, Invest-NL, InnovationQuarter Active Partial
52 Rebellyous Foods Plant-based chicken and manufacturing technology $32M 6 January 2025 $2M Series B Extension Clear Current Capital Active Partial
53 Imagindairy Fermentation-made animal-free dairy proteins $31M 4 April 2023 $3M Venture Round Danone Manifesto Ventures Active Strong
54 Fork & Good Scalable cultivated pork production $30M 3 October 2024 $8M Series A / Extension True Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, Collaborative Fund Active Partial
55 SCiFi Foods Hybrid cultivated and plant-based beef $29M 5 June 2022 $22M Series A Andreessen Horowitz, Valor Equity Partners Shutdown Strong
56 Shiok Meats Cultivated shrimp and crustaceans $28M 4 July 2021 $10M Bridge Woowa Brothers, CJ CheilJedang, Vinh Hoan Acquired Strong
57 Mission Barns Cultivated animal fat products ≥$28M 5 August 2025 Undisclosed Corporate Minority Lusiaves Active Partial
58 Armored Fresh Plant-based dairy cheese alternatives $27M 2 May 2022 $21M Bridge Hana Financial Investment, UTC Investment Active Strong
59 BLUU Seafood Cultivated fish and seafood products $26M 2 June 2023 $18M Series A Sparkfood, LBBW VC, SeaX Ventures Active Full
60 Chunk Foods Fermented whole-cut plant meat $25M 3 January 2024 $8M Seed Extension Cheyenne Ventures Active Full
61 Better Dairy Precision fermented dairy proteins $25M 2 2023 $22M Seed Balderton Capital, Singular Active Partial
62 MALK Organics Clean-label organic plant-based milk $25M 4 March 2024 $7M Series C Benvolio Group, Rotor Capital Active Strong
63 SuperMeat Cultivated chicken meat ≥$25M 5 May 2026 $6M Series A extension Agronomics, New Agrarian, Milk & Honey Ventures Active Partial
64 Stockeld Dreamery Fermented plant-based cheese products $24M 2 September 2021 $20M Series A Astanor Ventures, Northzone Acquired Strong
65 Eden Brew Precision-fermented animal-free dairy $23M 3 October 2023 $15M Series A Main Sequence, Breakthrough Victoria, Orkla Active Strong
66 CellX Cultivated meat and protein technologies $22M 4 June 2023 $7M Series A+ Agronomics, existing strategic investors Active Full
67 Current Foods Plant-based tuna and salmon $21M 3 June 2022 $18M Seed Ray Lane, Union Grove, Astanor Ventures Acquired Strong
68 Spero Foods Plant-based egg and dairy alternatives $20M 4 May 2021 $11M Series A extension Bessemer Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures, Left Lane Capital Acquired Strong
69 Nobell Foods Animal-free dairy proteins $20M 2 2021 $20M Series A GV, Breakthrough Energy Ventures Active Partial
70 Bon Vivant Fermentation-made milk and whey proteins $20M 2 October 2023 $16M Seed Sofinnova Partners, Sparkfood, Captech Santé Active Full
71 New Wave Foods Plant-based shrimp alternatives $20M 3 January 2021 $18M Series A NEA, Evolution VC Partners, Tyson Ventures Shutdown Partial
72 Konscious Foods Plant-based sushi and seafood meals $20M 2 August 2023 $19M Seed Zynik Capital, Walter Group, Protein Industries Canada Shutdown Partial
73 Ever After Foods Scalable cultivated protein manufacturing platform $20M 3 August 2026 $2M Strategic SAFE Undisclosed strategic investor(s) Active Full
74 Oshi Whole-cut plant-based fish fillets ≥$18M 4 May 2026 $3M Seed / Growth Unovis, Alumni Ventures, strategic seafood investor Active Strong
75 CellMEAT Cultivated shrimp and seafood technology ≥$18M 4 May 2023 $5M Series A Extension BNK Venture Capital, Strong Ventures, Ryukyung PSG Active Partial
76 Climax Foods Data-driven plant-based cheese $17M 4 October 2025 $7M Series A S2G Investments, At One Ventures Acquired Partial
77 IntegriCulture Cellular agriculture production infrastructure ≥$17M 5 July 2026 Undisclosed Series B Hiroshima Venture Capital, Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Leave a Nest Capital Active Partial
78 Change Foods Precision fermented cheese alternatives $15M 4 June 2022 Undisclosed Corporate Round CULT Food Science Active Strong
79 Orbillion Bio Cultivated premium beef technology platform $15M 3 March 2024 $9M Venture / Seed Extension The Venture Collective, At One Ventures, Y Combinator Acquired Strong
80 Avant Meats Cultivated fish and marine proteins $15M 3 June 2022 $11M Series A S2G Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, Thia Ventures Active Full
81 Plonts Microbial fermented plant cheese $12M 1 2022 $12M Seed Lowercarbon Capital, Accelr8 Active Strong
82 Tender Food Fiber-based plant meat $11M 1 June 2024 $11M Seed Lowercarbon Capital, FootPrint Coalition Active Strong
83 Mycorena Fermented mycoprotein food ingredients $11M 4 June 2021 $9M Pre-Series A VEOS Group, FBG Invest, Bånt AB Acquired Partial
84 Multus Biotechnology AI-designed cell culture media ≥$9M 3 January 2023 $7M Series A Mandi Ventures, SOSV, Asahi Kasei Active Strong
85 Black Sheep Foods Plant-based lamb alternatives $8M 3 February 2024 Undisclosed Later Stage VC Existing investors Active Strong
86 Aqua Cultured Foods Fermented seafood alternatives $8M 2 April 2023 $6M Seed Stray Dog Capital, H Venture Partners, CJ CheilJedang Shutdown Strong
87 Barvecue Plant-based barbecue products $7M 1 2022 $7M Seed Undisclosed Active Partial
88 Novameat 3D-structured plant meat $7M 2 2022 $5M Seed Extension Undisclosed Active Strong
89 Zero Egg Functional plant-based egg alternatives $7M 2 November 2020 $5M Series A PowerPlant Ventures, Unovis, The Kitchen Active Full
90 Those Vegan Cowboys Fermentation-derived animal-free dairy proteins $7M 1 December 2025 $7M Strategic / Private Round Pieter Geelen, Westland Kaas, Wouter Veenboer Active Strong
91 Alpha Foods Vegan convenience foods $6M 1 2019 $6M Seed New Crop Capital, Unovis Asset Management Active Partial
92 Forsea Foods Cultivated seafood using organoid technology ≥$5M 2 January 2024 Undisclosed Seed Extension Future Food Fund Active Strong
93 Juicy Marbles Premium plant-based whole-cut steaks $5M 3 November 2021 $5M Seed World Fund, AgFunder Active Strong
94 The ISH Company Plant-based seafood and shrimp alternatives $5M 2 January 2023 $5M Seed ACCELR8, Stray Dog Capital Active Partial
95 YO Egg Plant-based whole egg substitutes ≥$5M 2 July 2025 Undisclosed Seed NFX Active Strong
96 Mirai Foods Non-GMO cultivated beef and steaks $5M 2 March 2021 $2M Seed Second Close FRIBA Investment, Skyviews Life Science, Team Europe Active Strong
97 Umami Bioworks Cultivated seafood technology platform ≥$2M 2 August 2023 Undisclosed Seed Better Bite Ventures, Genedant, Katapult Ocean Active Partial
98 Daisy Lab Precision-fermented dairy proteins $1M 1 March 2023 $1M Seed Values Trust, Icehouse Ventures, Outset Ventures Active Partial
Market map chart showing top companies and startups in the alternative protein market

This market map, featured in our alternative protein market deck, highlights top companies and startups in the alternative protein market

Key funding trends in the alternative protein market

Insights

  • Alternative protein funding is extremely concentrated. The ten largest companies represent about $7.6B, close to 60% of the at least $12.7B represented across the full ranking.
  • The typical alternative protein startup remains much smaller than the category leaders. Median cumulative funding is only $35M, while Impossible Foods alone has raised $1.7B, nearly 49 times the market median.
  • Plant-based companies captured many of the industry's largest historical checks, but fermentation also produced exceptional scale-up rounds. Nature's Fynd raised $350M in Series C after only two earlier institutional financings.
  • Wildtype illustrates how concentrated individual financing histories can become in cultivated seafood. The company's $100M Series B represents roughly 86% of Wildtype's $116M cumulative funding.
  • LIVEKINDLY Collective stands out for capital raised per financing event. Approximately $535M across only two rounds equals about $268M per round, unusually high even among the most funded alternative protein companies.
  • Recent alternative protein rounds are generally smaller than the sector's historical mega-rounds. The Protein Brewery, Standing Ovation, Oshi and Ever After Foods raised about $55M combined in their latest 2026 financings.
  • Repeated access to capital remains a strong separator between companies. The median startup in the ranking completed only three rounds, while several market leaders accumulated six or more financings before reaching their current scale.
  • The alternative protein market has also experienced meaningful consolidation and failure. Believer Meats and Motif FoodWorks alone absorbed at least $734M before shutting down, showing that large fundraising totals do not guarantee commercial durability.
  • Investor exposure frequently spans different alternative protein technologies. Temasek appears among the key investors in UPSIDE Foods, Califia Farms and Wildtype, covering cultivated meat, plant-based beverages and cultivated seafood.
  • Seafood funding is particularly concentrated. Wildtype and BlueNalu raised substantially more capital than BLUU Seafood, Oshi, Avant Meats and Forsea Foods, suggesting investors historically backed a limited number of perceived platform leaders.
Google Trends chart showing rising interest in pea protein

As this chart shows, and as featured in our alternative protein market deck, search interest in pea protein has been growing steadily

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the alternative protein market based on their total cumulative fundraising. The database includes plant-based food companies, cultivated meat and seafood startups, fermentation specialists, mycoprotein companies, and other businesses developing alternatives to conventional animal proteins.

To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since they are the most reliable source for funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times or Forbes (to name a few).

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, or rupees, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and exclude the company from the ranking. We don’t want to include data that cannot be reliably verified.

This reflects how we conduct all our research, including the work behind our report covering the alternative protein market.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Chart showing Impossible Foods’ strategy in the alternative protein market

This chart, featured in our alternative protein market deck, looks at Impossible Foods’ strategy in alternative protein

Related blog posts

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- A complete overview of funding deals in alternative proteins

- What are the key fundraising trends in the alternative protein market?

- How funding activity has evolved in the alternative protein market

- The latest funding news in the alternative protein market

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So we decided to fix the experience. For each market we cover, we build a structured database and update it on a regular basis. We track funding rounds, fund memos, M&A moves, partnerships, new products, policy changes, and the real activity of startups and incumbents. Then we turn all of that into a clear “market pitch” that shows where the opportunities are and how people actually win in that space.

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