Miruku receives more capital as its plant-based dairy technology reaches proof of concept

While the food tech investment sector found out just last year, mirukuThe New Zealand-based food tech company was busy getting ahead of molecular agriculture technology. That proactive strategy put the company “three to four years ahead of emerging competitors,” CEO Amos Palfreyman told TechCrunch.

“Miruku not only aims to address the challenges posed by a changing climate impacting traditional dairy production, but also turns its attention to addressing critical issues of food security and nutrition,” Palfreyman said via an email interview. Has increased.”

TechCrunch profiles the company in 2022 That’s when it raised $2.4 million in seed funding to develop molecular agriculture technology to turn plant cells into mini-factories for the production of proteins and other molecules such as fats and sugars traditionally made by animals.

Miruku is not alone in using molecular agriculture technologies dairy products, Moza Foods and Nobel Foods do the same, but Palfreyman says his company focuses on business-to-business and modifying both proteins and fats within the same plant. It chose to use safflower as its primary crop because of its climate resilience.

Miruku’s management, from left, Thomas Buchanan, Ira Bing, Amos Palfreyman and Abby Thompson. Image Credit: miruku

Since the seed round, the company has made advancements in its proprietary dairy seed system. Initially, Miruku focused on programming plants to produce dairy protein that could be extracted from the seeds. This approach has since expanded to take advantage of the interactions between recombinant dairy caseins and native plant proteins, with or without improved fatty acid profiles.

“This breakthrough allows us to utilize a larger portion of the seed, turning it into a range of versatile ingredients for the food and beverage industry,” Palfreyman said. “We have now reached several key proof-of-concept milestones demonstrating the feasibility and potential of the dairy seed system.”

During that time, the company also tripled the size of its team and forged relationships with several food manufacturing partners for some co-development opportunities. Additionally, Miruku expanded its reach to Israel as well as Australia, which was chosen as the launchpad for its initial market entry.

Today, the company announced a $5 million raise in what Palfreyman called a Pre-Series A round. It was led by Motion Capital and included seed round investor Movac and new investor NZVC. He did not disclose the valuation, but said it was an “up round”.

The new capital will enable Miruku to expand its crop development efforts. This includes a partnership with CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), the Australian government agency responsible for scientific research. Thus, the company will take its modified safflower varieties to field trials in Australia, Palfreyman said.

“Above all, our priority is to advance our technology and make progress toward market readiness,” Palfreyman said. “This includes expanding our footprint in Australia and establishing a presence in the United States.”