Imagindairy closes $13 million seed round to advance animal-free dairy

The Israeli startup uses natural precision fermentation to create true milk proteins

CTech 11:0817.11.21
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Israeli foodtech startup Imagindairy, which has developed a technology to create milk proteins identical to those from cows, announced on Wednesday the completion of a $13 million seed round. The funding was led by MoreVC, a leading seed-stage investor in Israel managing $275 million across three funds. Also joining this round: Strauss Group, Entrée Capital, S2G Ventures; Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures; Emerald Technology Ventures and Pierre Besnainou. This round includes a pre-seed investment by Strauss Group, FoodSparks by PeakBridge, Entrée Capital and CPT Capital earlier this year.

 

With natural precision fermentation, Imagindairy is creating true milk proteins that are indistinguishable from the real thing. Imagindairy’s proprietary technology, based on a systems and synthetic biology platform, allows manufacturers to offer cow-free, sustainable milk and dairy products with all the nutritional values of dairy milk.
Imagindairy team. Photo: Rami Shlush Imagindairy team. Photo: Rami Shlush

 

“The market is eager to develop new dairy analogs based on our animal-free proteins," said Eyal Afergan, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Imagindairy. "Once we reach commercialization, more consumers will be able to enjoy eating animal-free dairy products. It’s hard for people to make big changes, especially when it comes to the foods they enjoy, but when there’s an alternative with the same flavor and experience that is more aligned to their values, it becomes easy.” 
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Imagindairy’s technology is based on 15 years of research led by its co-founder and CSO, Tamir Tuller, PhD, a professor at Tel Aviv University. The company's mission was to create a commercially viable, guilt-free experience of traditional dairy products. The company will invest the funds in expanding its facilities, increasing its professional team, and boosting its R&D capacity to meet the demands of its partners.

 

Imagindairy is currently collaborating with leading dairy companies, offering a complete range of dairy-free proteins. “Imagindairy’s innovative technology allows dairy companies to develop new products or reformulate existing products, without involving animals and with a dramatic reduction in carbon-footprint,” said Glen Schwaber, MoreVC partner. “They have the technology to produce the dairy products of the future that consumers want today. We are incredibly impressed with the expert team and their strong R&D and scale-up capabilities—we’re proud to lead this investment round.”