Funding the build
Gain a realistic understanding of the funding landscape for alternative protein scale-up and commercial manufacturing with our comprehensive guide. Moving beyond venture capital, we explore financing strategies that companies can deploy today and highlight the significant challenges that remain.
Explore the alternative protein financing landscape
An ever-evolving financing landscape
Alternative protein companies flourished over the last decade, benefitting from 2019 to 2022, in particular, from ample capital availability. Then the easy flow of venture capital came to a screeching halt, driven by the tightening of U.S. monetary policy and slowing plant-based meat sales. In this new environment, alternative protein companies searching for other sources of growth funding are struggling to find it.
This guide assesses the industry’s current situation, suggests potential near-term approaches, highlights promising innovative solutions, and is honest about the challenging path forward. While the guide is primarily directed toward alternative protein companies to support their understanding of the financing landscape and help them develop creative and multi-pronged funding strategies, other industry stakeholders may also find value in our work. Investors, governments, and incumbent companies can better understand how they might participate in strategic efforts to grow alternative protein companies.
This initial phase of GFI’s research represents the situation in mid-2024 and covers U.S. companies, or companies focused on the U.S. market opportunity. The macro and industry-specific backdrops will keep evolving, and we will strive to evolve with them.
As we continue to work on identifying, communicating, and unlocking funding opportunities, we invite all of you to share your ideas and feedback by emailing corporate@gfi.org.
Start fundraising
We offer resources to help companies navigate the complexities of fundraising. Learn more about pitching and finding investors, incubators, and partners to accelerate bringing your product to market and scaling up.
Related resources
Public funding for alternative protein commercialization
By joining our email list, you’ll receive notifications of new U.S.-based public funding opportunities for alternative protein companies.
Fermentation manufacturing capacity analysis
This analysis describes the existing fermentation-derived protein manufacturing landscape and strategies to effectively scale manufacturing capabilities to ensure long-term growth.
Plant-based meat manufacturing capacity and pathways for expansion
The analysis quantifies the existing global plant-based meat manufacturing landscape and evaluates pathways for expanding capacity to meet future demand.
Trends in cultivated meat scale-up and bioprocessing
This report presents findings from a 2022-2023 survey of 30 cultivated meat industry stakeholders and covers current capabilities, future needs, bioprocessing, facilities, equipment costs, and food safety practices.
