Motif Ingredients Joins Food-Tech Innovation With $90M In Funding

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

There’s a new kid on the block in the food-tech industry. Motif Ingredients, a spinoff of Ginkgo Bioworks, launched recently with a whopping $90 million in Series A financing with the mission to innovate next-generation alternative proteins and other ingredients for global food companies.

Motif will build on Ginkgo’s platform for biological engineering, using biotechnology to use fermentation to create various vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and flavors, in a process that is akin to brewing beer. Its focus on new ingredients, especially proteins, is partnered with a desire to manufacture them at an affordable price and make them accessible to your everyday food market.

Jonathan McIntyre, PhD, CEO of Motif, sees its mission as an answer to consumers’ demands for mindful food options and accessibility of alternatives to animal-based foods. “Biotechnology and fermentation is our answer,” said McIntyre, “and Motif will be key to propelling the next food revolution with affordable sustainable and accessible ingredients that meet the standards of chefs, food developers, and visionary brands.”

As you’ve probably heard by now, the meat industry is one of the leading contributors to climate change. Cutting back, or cutting out meat entirely, is one way to personally make a difference. But, if you genuinely like meat and are having trouble letting it go, there are a myriad of food-tech companies trying to help you out. Motif has joined the likes of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, companies that are working to grow meat in a lab or use plant-based proteins to create a viable alternative to animal-based products.

Motif’s financing included contributions from food-tech industry insiders such as Frontera, as well as investment from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate focused investment fund with deep pockets lined by billionaires including Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, John Doerr, Vinod Khosla, Jack Ma, Neil Shen, Masayoshi Son, and Meg Whitman.

According to Motif, consumer demand for alternative foods grew by 17% in the last year. Motif plans to provide the answer, and we can’t wait to see what it has in store.


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.