Spanish biotech MOA Foodtech has closed a €3.3 million ($3.8 million) funding round. The capital will help scale its AI-powered biomass fermentation platform. The platform grows non-GMO yeast strains. These convert agrifood waste streams into high-value biobased ingredients.
The round was backed by the European Innovation Council Fund, Swanlaab Innvierte Agri Food Tech and CDTI-Innvierte. It will help the startup boost fermentation capacity. Bioreactors will scale from 120,000 litres to 225,000 litres. The funding will also expand production of its first three ingredients.
MOA Q5 is a multifunctional egg replacer and emulsifier. It works in sauces and bakery products. MOA Yeast is designed to improve taste, texture and nutritional value. MOA Yeast FeG is a variant built for pet food and animal nutrition.
CEO Bosca Emparanza said the company has pilots underway with several companies, mainly in Europe. He said MOA Q5 is being validated in bakery applications. Meanwhile, MOA Yeast and MOA Yeast FeG are being evaluated across food and pet food products. Emparanza noted that MOA Yeast FeG is already used in a commercial pet food product, though he could not disclose the customer due to confidentiality agreements.
The proprietary ingredients are manufactured by a CDMO partner in Spain. They’re sold directly to food and pet food manufacturers through MOA’s in-house sales team. The company also runs co-development projects with partners looking to transform side streams into functional biobased ingredients.
Founded in 2020, MOA Foodtech works with a library of over 300 microbes for its biomanufacturing process. The company built an AI tool called Albatross to optimize fermentation conditions in real time. Emparanza said the tool cut development time for a new ingredient from six months to under two weeks.
The post MOA Foodtech secures €3.3M to scale AI-driven fermentation appeared first on World Bio Market Insights.
- Source: https://worldbiomarketinsights.com/moa-foodtech-secures-e3-3m-to-scale-ai-driven-fermentation/
