March 24, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Miruku, an innovative New Zealand-based startup developing advanced dairy proteins in plants, has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $2.4 million Seed round in-hand.

This funding was led by New Zealand venture capital fund Movac, and included Asia Pacific investors Better Bite Ventures, Colorado-based Ahimsa Foundation, and NZ Growth Capital Partners via their Aspire Fund. 

Founded in 2020 by former dairy executive and innovative food leader Amos Palfreyman; technology and life science investor Ira Bing; expert in milk protein science and technology, Professor Harjinder Singh; and molecular agronomy specialist, Professor Oded Shoseyov, Miruku uses a molecular farming process at the cutting-edge of applied plant science that recruits plant cells as mini factories to produce proteins, fats, and sugars that have so far been only sourced from animals.

“Miruku’s founding team has the powerful mix of scientific expertise and entrepreneurial drive,” commented Michal Klar with Better Bite Ventures. “I am looking forward to seeing the positive impact the Miruku technology will have on our food system.”

Situated at the intersection of biotech, agriculture, and future food – where sustainability and ecology are paramount – Miruku breeds and develops plants for the purpose of turning their cells to dairy proteins.

As opposed to other methods of alternative protein production, such as fermentation, this method doesn’t require bioreactors, which can be hard to scale. In this case, plants are the bioreactors, enabling the production of dairy products like cheese and yogurt, as well as new product formats.

“Miruku’s breakthrough plant technologies hold potential to produce animal-free milk proteins cost-effectively,” said Professor Shoseyov. “Plants lie at the bottom of the food chain. Miruku cuts out the middlemen (cows) which convert plant energy (sugars) to proteins.”

Shoseyov continued, “Instead Miruku produces its proteins directly in the plants themselves. This is an elegant approach to energy and production efficiency and this efficiency is better for soil, water and atmosphere. Plant based food systems with improved protein functionality can contribute materially to balancing human and ecological needs.”

One question that might come to mind is that if the plants used are genetically engineered, would the dairy proteins made from them be considered GMO? Amos Palfreyman, CEO of Miruku, explained to Green Queen, “While the plants we grow have been genetically transformed, the proteins that our plants produce are the same as normal dairy molecules. That’s the point. They are safe, clean, friendlier to the planet and as nutritious and delicious as the same dairy molecules from a cow.”

Palfreyman explained that the greatest challenge for Miruku is to successfully engineer a plant to generate animal proteins without losing the protein’s structure or functionality in the process. But once that is achieved by using computational biology and other related technologies, scaling the process is far easier, which is contrary to most business models – you just plant more seeds.

The company, which has been self-funded prior to this round, remains in a developmental stage. And though it will still be a matter of years before its proteins will be commercially available, the capital gained through this round will be used to expand its team, to accelerate its technologies, and to establish more partnerships, as it is already working with top food companies to co-develop products. 

“We share a vision that applies the sharp edge of applied science to agronomy and food tech, at scale, with global partners,” said Palfreyman. “Our goal is to provide nutritious and functional animal-free dairy, economically. The Miruku team is amped to have been joined by a special set of local and international institutional foodtech investors backing our vision of delicious and ecologically sustainable food production, and of course our growth plans.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com. 

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