Lab-grown meat producer Uncommon said on Friday it had raised $30 million from investors including OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.
The British-based company's latest funding round was led by Balderton Capital and Lowercarbon Capital. Others investors included Red Alpine, East Alpha, early stage investor Sam Altman, Miray Zaki and Sebastiano Castiglioni, it said.
Uncommon chief executive and founder Benjamina Bollag said she looked forward to working with the investors "to make a difference to global health."
Fight Against Climate Change
Companies producing lab-grown meat say they hope to contribute in the fight against climate change, as producing meat in a laboratory has less impact on the environment than livestock out in a field.
They also promote the fact that their products do not involve the slaughter of animals.
"The cultivated meat industry faces significant challenges, from the cost of materials to regulation and scaling," Balderton Capital partner Daniel Waterhouse said.
"We're convinced that Uncommon has the formula to become a global leader that will transform how we eat and enjoy meat."
Coming A Reality
On 23 January, Reuters reported that lab-grown meat could become reality in some restaurants in the United States as early as this year.
Executives at cultivated meat companies are optimistic that meat grown in massive steel vats could be on the menu within months after one company won the go-ahead from a key regulator.
In a show of confidence, some of them have signed up high-end chefs like Argentine Francis Mallmann and Spaniard José Andrés to eventually showcase the meats in their high-end eateries.
But to reach its ultimate destination - supermarket shelves - cultivated meat faces big obstacles, five executives told Reuters.
Read More: Lab-Grown Meat Moves Closer To American Dinner Plates
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more technology stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
