Roslin Tech announces new investment from Kickstart Ventures
Professor Andy Porter (Chair, Roslin Tech), Minette Navarrete (President and CoFounder Kickstart Ventures), Ernst Van Orsouw (CEO Roslin Tech), John Clinkenbeard (COO, Roslin Tech)
In June, Edinburgh-based food tech company, Roslin Technologies, was delighted to welcome Philippine-based Kickstart Ventures, through the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund, as an investor in the Company to support its mission to become the leading provider of animal cell lines to the global cultivated meat industry.
Cultivated meat is meat grown directly from animal cells without the need to raise animals. Roslin Technologies was spun out from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, the place where Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was born in the nineties. Now, more than 25 years later, Roslin Technologies is leading the field of developing pluripotent animal stem cells which have the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end-tissues for the cultivated meat industry such as fat and muscle cells. Roslin Technologies is making these cells available to cultivated meat producers and currently has customers in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Kickstart Ventures is the leading and largest corporate venture capital firm in the Philippines, backed by Ayala Corporation, the oldest and one of the largest conglomerates in the country. The firm has a track record in investing in companies that help resolve systemic issues in supply chains that impact the Philippines and beyond. It sees increasing food prices, the growing global protein gap and risks of food insecurity as a key challenge to the Philippines. The promise of cultivated meat for shorter supply chains, reduced production time, and comparable nutrition to conventional meat, make cultivated meat a compelling and scalable opportunity.
The strategic investment from Kickstart Ventures strengthens the Company’s footprint in Asia. It also expands Roslin Technologies’ international shareholder base which already includes investors from the UK, Europe, Asia and US demonstrating the global interest in Roslin Technologies’ offering.
Ernst van Orsouw, Roslin Technologies’ CEO, says: “We are very excited about working with Kickstart. They are passionate about what we do for the food system and bring a fantastic footprint in Asia that will help us expand in that region.”
Minette Navarrete, President and Co-Founder of Kickstart Ventures adds: "This investment in Roslin Tech is a milestone for Kickstart and the ACTIVE Fund. The ACTIVE Fund’s investment in Roslin Tech feeds into our thesis of A World of Plenty, which invests in the future of resource availability - particularly in innovative technologies that reframe the scarcity and abundance of resources.
This investment is meaningful for the future of food security globally, especially in emerging markets like the Philippines. The persistent and complex issue of food insecurity demands multiple transformative solutions. The world's capacity to feed a growing population is limited.
Roslin Tech offers a solution that augments this limited capacity at scale, and with speed. Roslin Tech, with their scalable, IP-rich approach and innovative technology, offers a compelling and commercially attractive solution. Together, we strive to create a sustainable future for food and alleviate hunger and food insecurity.”
Natalie Black, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific said: “Kickstart Ventures’ investment into Roslin Technologies highlights the strengths of the UK’s world-class $1 trillion tech sector, third in the world after the US and China. I look forward to seeing the breakthroughs that will come from this partnership and the difference it will make in the future of food security.”