Although pork has nearly half the carbon footprint per pound as beef, we eat twice as much of it. Pork is now the world’s most popular meat, accounting for 35% of global consumption. And it’s growing, driven up by Chinese demand, which accounts for roughly half of all pork sales. Industrial pork production is also tied to infectious diseases like Swine Fever that killed nearly 40% of China’s pig population in 2019.
Higher Steaks produces non-genetically modified bacon and pork belly from cultured cells, without losing the taste or texture of meat from animals. Using a novel approach involving induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), they can efficiently convert minimally-invasive blood samples into full-fledged muscle, fat, and skin tissues without needing to genetically modify any cell DNA.
The novelty of their approach is to succeed in using iPSCs without genetic modification. It allows for more efficient cell differentiation, or the process of turning stem cells into muscle, fat, and skin tissue. This points toward a more scalable path to meat production while preserving a quicker path to regulatory and consumer acceptance in key geographies, particularly in the UK and European Union.
Higher Steaks produces non-genetically modified bacon and pork belly from cultured cells, without losing the taste or texture of meat from animals. Using a novel approach involving induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), they can efficiently convert minimally-invasive blood samples into full-fledged muscle, fat, and skin tissues without needing to genetically modify any cell DNA.
The novelty of their approach is to succeed in using iPSCs without genetic modification. It allows for more efficient cell differentiation, or the process of turning stem cells into muscle, fat, and skin tissue. This points toward a more scalable path to meat production while preserving a quicker path to regulatory and consumer acceptance in key geographies, particularly in the UK and European Union.
Location: United Kingdom, England, London
Total raised: $30M
Investors 4
| Date | Name | Website |
| - | Lowercarbo... | lowercarbo... |
| - | GROW | gogrow.co |
| - | Cambridge ... | camagritec... |
| - | The Pearse... | pearselyon... |
Funding Rounds 1
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| 09.06.2023 | Series A | $30M | - |
Mentions in press and media 29
| Date | Title | Description |
| 09.06.2023 | Steering into the industry skid, this cultivated meat startup raises an Uncommon $30 million | Cambridge-based biotech startup Uncommon has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round. Formerly known as Higher Steaks, the startup will use the investment to further develop its unique approach to lab-grown lunch, ramp up production,... |
| 09.06.2023 | Cultivated meat startup Higher Steaks raises $30 million series A, rebrands as ‘Uncommon’ | UK-based Higher Steaks has rebranded as Uncommon and raised $30 million in a series A round to scale production of cultivated pork using patent-pending technology it claims gives it a competitive edge by speeding up the cell differentiation... |
| 08.06.2023 | Cultured meat startup Higher Steaks nabs $30M and rebrands as Uncommon | U.K.-based cultivated meat startup Higher Steaks has raised $30 million in a Series A round of funding and revealed that it’s changing its name to Uncommon. Founded out of Cambridge in 2017, Uncommon is one of countless companies pushing to... |
| 01.07.2022 | Meet These 7 Food Techs Making Pig-Free Bacon A Reality | 5 Mins Read When it comes to the foods that plant-based folk miss, bacon never fails to make it on the list. Let’s face it: who doesn’t love bacon? From topping maple syrup-covered pancakes, to making the perfect breakfast fry-up and simply... |
| 08.03.2022 | IWD 2022: Celebrating the Queens Of Alt Protein Who Are Forging The Future Of Food | 166 1 167 Shares 16 Mins Read The two biggest plant-based protein startups in the world are run by men. The majority of the rising cell-based protein startups are also run by men, alongside most of the vegan investment groups that fund them... |
| 16.08.2021 | Brief: Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital raises $800m | Lowercarbon Capital, the climate change-focused VC firm launched by early Twitter and Uber investor and Shark Tank star Chris Sacca, has raised $800 million in capital. In an announcement, Sacca said that the firm was able to “wrap up fundr... |
| 01.06.2021 | The Newest Advancements From The Female Founders in Cellular Meat: Patricia Bubner, Stephanie Michelsen, Nieves Martinez Marshall and Benjamina Bollag | What are the newest advancements in cellular meat? Hear from the female founders leading the way. Patricia Bubner of Orbillion, Nieves Martinez Marshall of Novel Farms, Benjamina Bollag of HigherSteaks, and Stephanie Michelsen on Jellatech ... |
| 08.03.2021 | IWD 2021: Celebrating the Queens Of Alt Protein Who Are Forging The Future Of Food | 15 Mins Read Editor’s Note: This list is the result of hours of work, and no doubt we have missed some amazing queens. We will do our best to keep adding. On the startup side, we focused on founders, but many of these startups have incredib... |
| 22.12.2020 | Cultured Protein: A Guide To Every Cell-Based Meat Startup In The World Right Now | 3 1 4 Shares 10 Mins Read The alternative protein market is on fire right now, estimated to be worth approximately $2.2Bn, and cultivated meat is expected to play an important role in the shift from traditional meat products. Experienced sc... |
| 14.10.2020 | Where are the world’s first ‘lab burger’ growers now? Enlarging their Series B raise | These days, it feels like most days are a ‘World Something Day.’ If there’ll ever be an ‘International Cultured Meat Day,’ an apt date to mark it is August 5. On that day in 2013, Dutch foodtech company Mosa Meat brandished the world’s firs... |
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