CellX Raises $6.5 Million in Series A+ Funding
CellX, a prominent cultivated meat company in China, has secured $6.5 million in a Series A+ funding round. The funding originates from a group of strategic investors and will drive CellX towards pilot-scale production of their cultivated meat offerings. With this latest investment, the company's total funding surpasses $20 million, establishing it as the most heavily funded cellular agriculture startup in China.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Shanghai, CellX is dedicated to developing platform technologies using a multi-species approach. The company actively collaborates with leading global universities and corporations to expedite the commercialization of cultivated meat, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Ziliang Yang, Co-founder and CEO of CellX, emphasized the importance of producing meat consistently, cost-effectively, and on a large scale. He stated, "China alone consumes over 100 million tons of meat annually, accounting for more than a quarter of global meat consumption. To make a significant impact on the global food supply chain, cultivated meat must be produced at scale and at a low cost."
CellX, established two years ago, has developed research and development platforms in four critical areas of lab-grown meat technology: cell line development, media optimization, innovative bioprocess design, and end product innovation. Earlier this year, the company announced its plans to construct China's leading pilot production facility for lab-grown meat, equipped with several thousand-liter bioreactors.
Dr. Chen, the R&D Director at CellX, shared the company's achievements, stating, "We have successfully cultivated more than ten cell lines from various species, five of which have been adapted for suspension culturing. Our leading cell line has now entered the pilot stage. Additionally, we have developed multiple serum-free media and significantly improved the yield, enabling us to reduce production costs substantially. Currently, we are focused on scaling up to 2,000 liters."
