Scottish food and ag-tech company, Roslin Tech, has closed its Series A funding round led by Novo Holdings. 

The company secured £11 million during the raise, which will be used to accelerate the company’s growth and its mission to become a leading provider of animal cell lines in the fast-paced cultivated meat sector.  

Roslin Tech has developed pluripotent animal stem cells that have the ability to “self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end-tissues for meat”. The company currently has customers in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The funds will be used to expand its cell line and further address the protocols for commercial scale-up of its cells for meat production. This will be carried out in collaboration with its customers, as well as the University of Edinburgh. The company says it will also invest in its insect venture, which focuses on “breeding better insects for the emerging insect protein sector, a promising regenerative agricultural technique”.

Other investors in the round include Kairos Capital Group, Nutreco, Future Planet Capital, Esco Lifesciences, Alchimia, and private investors. 

Ernst van Orsouw, CEO of Roslin Tech, said: “We are excited to welcome Novo Holdings and other investors on our journey to improve the food system. With the investment and strategic support, we can accelerate the development of better cells for the sector and focus on making our customers successful.”

Nis Bak, principal of Novo Holdings and new board member, added: “We’ve been impressed with Roslin Technologies’ team and innovative technologies, which have the potential to materially improve the production of novel, sustainable proteins. We are excited to invest alongside a strong syndicate of investors whose joint vision for Roslin Technologies and complementary capabilities will be a great asset to the company in its continued development.”