The brief
- First cultivated meat to get FDA 'no questions' (Nov 2022) and a USDA grant of inspection (June 2023).
- Raised $400M in 2022 at a valuation above $1B, but paused its Rubicon plant in Illinois in 2024.
- Is fighting cultivated-meat bans in Florida and other states in court.
Technical approach
Cells
Chicken cell lines
Cells from a chicken are adapted to keep dividing indefinitely, so no animal is slaughtered for each batch.
Media
Cell food without animal serum
Cells eat sugars, amino acids, vitamins and growth signals; making this food cheap and animal-free is key to cost.
Bioprocess
Tanks and tissue
Cells grow in steel bioreactors. Whole filets grow as tissue; ground chicken uses free-floating cells that skip one growth factor (PDGF).
Programs
Upside Foods, one program
Updated 1 Aug 2024
Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling
Research & demos
- Nov 2022paperFDA pre-market consultation on Upside's cultured chicken cell material (opens fda.gov)Cultivated chicken
First FDA safety review completed for cultivated meat.
Open technical problems
- Matching the price of chickenActive research
Limited tank capacity, costly cell food and slow growth keep costs far above normal chicken.
- Thick whole cuts at scaleActive research
Growing thick, textured meat needs scaffolds or nutrient flow that today's bioreactors don't easily provide.
Peers
Company & funding
- Raised
- $400Mdisclosed private rounds
- Last round
- Series CApr 2022
- HQ
- US
- Founded
- 2015
| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2022 | Series C | $400M | — | Temasek, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund |
Partners & customers
- Customer
San Francisco restaurant that served Upside chicken from 2023
- Investor
Co-led the 2022 Series C
People
- Uma ValetiFounder & CEO