UK: Multus and New Wave Biotech Merge in AI Partnership to Lower the Costs of Cultivated Meat – vegconomist

Multus, a UK growth media innovator for cultivated meat, and London-based New Wave Biotech, a leader in AI bioprocess optimization software, are joining forces to lower the costs of cultivated meat using AI.

Multus develops food-safe, animal-free growth media for the cultivated meat industry through AI, lab automation, and novel ingredients. New Wave Biotech develops AI bioprocess optimization software to help biotech companies launch their products more quickly and at a lower cost.

Through the collaboration, Multus will harness the speed and accuracy of New Wave Biotech’s AI software to expand the production of its products at convenient prices. The software will help the growth media specialist create virtual experimentation on thousands of processes, leveraging real-life data for continual improvements. The AI eliminates unviable processes, accelerates R&D, lowers development costs, and ultimately improves costs, explains Multus.

Zoe Law, CEO and co-founder of New Wave Biotech, shared: “With the cultivated meat market projected to hit $25 billion by 2030, our joint efforts could significantly influence the sustainability of global food systems.”

Lowering the costs of cultivated meat

Growth media are essential nutrients for cell growth but represent a significant portion of production costs. By offering an efficient and more accessible product, the companies aim to substantially lower the cost of cultivated meat to propel the transition from intensive animal farming to sustainable production.

Research by CE Delft reveals that cultivating meat from cells, as opposed to traditional animal farming, could drastically reduce the climate impact of meat by up to 92%, air pollution by up to 94%, and up to 90% less land.

The project has received funding through an Innovate UK Engineering Biology grant, as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s National Engineering Biology Programme. 

Serum-free growth ingredients

In 2021, Multus raised £1.6 million to bring to market its serum-free growth medium, Proliferum M, designed explicitly for large-scale use in the food industry. Then this January, the biotech raised a further £7.9 million to build a facility to produce at scale its animal-free growth media.  Additionally, Multus has obtained ISO 22000 certification, ensuring its ingredients are produced according to food safety production standards.

Cai Linton, co-founder and CEO of Multus, commented: “Working with New Wave Biotech, we’re tackling the key challenges of scaling and cost in cultivated meat production. Our combined expertise in AI and synthetic biology is paving the way for more affordable, scalable solutions, bringing the reality of widely available cultivated meat ever closer.