Animal-free cheese maker raises $50 million for “dairy revolution”

In Berlin, a startup producing cheese without animals has raised $50 million in a Series A funding round. Formo uses precision fermentation to produce cheese with the same taste and texture as cheese from animals and at lower cost.  It plans on using the funds to build a pilot plant, add staff, and accelerate commercialization. Formo also said it will expand its portfolio to include European favorites like mozzarella and ricotta. 

The financing was led by EQT Ventures, Elevat3 Capital, Lowercarbon Capital. Other participants included Lionheart Ventures, Happiness Capital, and Albert Wenger as well as existing investors Agronomics, CPT Capital, Good Seed Ventures, Grazia Equity, and M Ventures. 

“The true cost of dairy on human health, planetary health, and animal welfare is devastating, yet governments across the world still subsidize this industry. Formo’s exceptional team has successfully demonstrated how biotechnology can be applied to create not just equally, but even better-performing products that will be price-competitive in no time. This is just the beginning of the dairy revolution!” says Christian Angermayer, Founding Partner of Elevat3 Capital.