Geltor has raised a $91.3 million series B funding to expand its animal-free proteins.
Geltor
Biodesign startup Geltor has raised a $91.3 million series B funding, led by alternative protein investor CPT Capital with significant commitment from WTT Investment Ltd., to expand its ingredients-as-a-service platform globally.
Returning investors in this round include Cultivian Sandbox, SOSV, and iSelect Fund, along with the investment arms of ingredient technology companies GELITA and Archer Daniels Midland.
Geltor has also brought several new investors on board, including Blue Horizon Ventures, RIT Capital Partners, Humboldt Fund, and Pegasus Tech Ventures.
The California-based company was co-founded by Alex Lorestani and Nick Ouzounov in 2015 to develop tailored bioactive ingredients to replace traditional animal-based proteins, including collagen and gelatin, and it has recently experienced a significant sales increase despite African Swine Fever and COVID-19.
Costa Yiannoulis, CPT Capital’s investor director and Geltor’s board director, said in a prepared statement: “We see huge market potential for Geltor’s protein platform across categories from cosmetics to food. We are excited by the speed and skill with which they are building out their capabilities.”
Geltor has reportedly scaled its fermentation-based technology platform up 100 times and produced hundreds of new proteins over the past year. Its initial animal-free collagens, including HumaColl21 and Collume, also saw sales surge as the global demand for college grew by 25% annually.
“In light of the havoc wreaked by COVID-19 on protein supply chains globally, we believe Geltor is laying the foundations for its sustainable, resilient, protein supply chain of the future,” Yiannoulis added.
Alex Lorestani (left) and Nick Ouzounov (right) co-founded Geltor in 2015.
Geltor
Building sustainable products for iconic brands
Geltor plans to use the latest investment to scale business and manufacturing operations around its core platforms, and to eventually make it “ridiculously easy” for iconic brands to build sustainable products, according to Lorestani who also serves the company’s CEO.
“This next stage of growth will allow Geltor to meet the moment our world is facing, as businesses recognize the urgent need to transition to a sustainable protein supply chain,” he said. “We’re grateful to have investors who see Geltor as an index of this important shift to a system powered by fermentation and plant-based platforms like ours.
“As a scientist, I’m convinced that the highest-impact action I can take to support human and planetary health is making our ingredients-as-a-service platform better every single day.”
Ouzounov, who also serves as Geltor’s chief technology officer, noted how the company is now able to better tailor bioactive ingredients based on specific customer needs with the established success of its biodesign platform.
He said: “We’ve only scratched the surface what our technology can unlock for our clients at unprecedented speed.”
Meticulous Market Research expects the global alternative protein market to grow at a 9.5% CAGR from 2019 to reach $17.9 billion by 2025.
