A-listers Robert Downey Jr., Richard Branson join Series A for microbial oils startup

In California, several celebrities have signed on for a $37-milllion, Series A funding for Zero Acre Farms, a company developing vegetable oils produced by fermentation. The company hopes its technology could end deforestation and harmful health impacts linked to global demand for vegetable oils such as soybean, sunflower, canola, and palm oil. 

The oversubscribed funding round included Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group, and Chef Dan Barber, among others. 

“Zero Acre Farms is on a mission to remove destructive vegetable oils from the food system,” says Zero Acre Farms founder Jeff Nobbs in a press statement. “And we’re not going to stop until restaurant deep fryers, home pantries, and packaged foods around the world are finally free of these harmful oils and fats. If we succeed, we think the result will be nothing short of the reversal of chronic disease and obesity rates, as well as a massive slowing of climate change and the restoration of millions of acres of natural ecosystems.”