Once defined by a massive influx of venture capital, the cultivated meat sector is now experiencing a severe downturn marked by plummeting investment and a wave of company closures. Despite achieving significant regulatory milestones, major players such as Believer Meats, Meatable, CellRev, Upstream Foods, and SCiFi Foods have recently ceased operations, citing an inability to secure necessary funding amid high capital demands and long paths to commercialization. As the industry undergoes this “shakeout,” survival strategies have shifted toward consolidation, evidenced by mergers like the formation of Parima and Umami Bioworks’ acquisition of Shiok Meats, as well as the sale of intellectual property to research institutes. Ultimately, the landscape is rapidly slimming down, leaving only the business models capable of withstanding the intense pressure of a capital-scarce environment to define the sector’s future.
Source: Cultivated meat’s casualties: who is failing and why?