Wildtype is a technology company.
Wildtype has raised $117.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Wildtype has raised $117.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Wildtype has raised $117.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Wildtype's investors include Advisors Fund LLC, AngelPad, Invariantes Fund, Long Journey Ventures, Mana Ventures, Maven Ventures, Pioneer Square Labs, Prefix Capital, Sequoia Capital, SilverCircle, Spark Capital, ThirdLove.
Wildtype is a San Francisco-based cellular agriculture company founded in 2016 that cultivates seafood, starting with sushi-grade salmon, to provide sustainable alternatives to wild-caught or farmed fish.[1][2][4] It addresses seafood demand amid overfishing and climate challenges by growing fish cells in bioreactors, delivering products with the taste and texture of traditional salmon while reducing contaminants like mercury, parasites, and antibiotics.[2][4][5] Wildtype serves high-end restaurants, seafood distributors, and eco-conscious consumers, solving problems of food security, ocean depletion, and health risks from conventional seafood; it has raised $123M in funding, reached Series B-II stage, and achieved early commercial traction with menu placements in venues like Kingfisher in Arizona and The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle.[1][2][3][4]
Wildtype emerged in 2016 from a team's recognition of seafood supply crises: rising global demand against depleting wild stocks and unsustainable farming practices.[1][2][4] Founders, including leaders like Head of Product Ben Friedman and Board Member John Melas-Kyriazi, assembled a diverse group of scientists, chefs, engineers, and entrepreneurs passionate about cellular agriculture to redefine protein sourcing.[1][4] Early pivotal moments included securing $123M from investors like L Catterton, S2G Ventures, and Leonardo DiCaprio, plus tech partnerships like Solaris Biotech for bioreactors; by 2025, it launched cultivated salmon in restaurants and filed a federal lawsuit with UPSIDE Foods and the Institute for Justice against Texas's cultivated meat sales ban.[2][3][4]
Wildtype rides the cellular agriculture wave in agtech and alternative proteins, targeting a cultivated meat market projected to hit $3.25B by 2033 amid food security pressures from population growth and climate change.[1][2][5] Timing aligns with overfishing crises and consumer demand for clean-label seafood, positioning it against competitors like Believer Meats (cultivated meat) and Prime Roots (plant-based).[2] Favorable forces include robust VC interest ($123M raised) and regulatory pushes; Wildtype influences the ecosystem by proving scalability for premium channels, inspiring ocean conservation, and battling bans to normalize cultivated seafood.[2][3][4][5]
Wildtype's restaurant launches and legal battles signal scaling from R&D to revenue, with bioreactor tech and flavors driving broader adoption.[3][4] Trends like sustainability mandates, omega-3 demand, and agtech maturation will propel it, potentially expanding to more species amid a booming market.[1][2][5] Its influence may evolve from pioneer to category leader, pressuring oceans less while feeding premium markets—echoing its mission to build a better food system through clean seafood.[4][5]
Wildtype has raised $117.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $100.0M Series B in February 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2022 | $100.0M Series B | Advisors Fund LLC, AngelPad, Invariantes Fund, Long Journey Ventures, Mana Ventures, Maven Ventures, Pioneer Square Labs, Prefix Capital, Sequoia Capital, SilverCircle, Spark Capital, ThirdLove, Thomvest Ventures, Trajectory Ventures, TSVC Capital, Ulu Ventures, Alison Pincus, Andy Bechtolsheim, Eric Ver Ploeg, Jean Pigozzi, Mark Pincus, Ning Sung, Scott Banister | |
| Oct 1, 2019 | $13.0M Series A | AngelPad, Mana Ventures, Maven Ventures, Pioneer Square Labs, Sequoia Capital, SilverCircle, Spark Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Trajectory Ventures, TSVC Capital, Ulu Ventures, Eric Ver Ploeg, Ning Sung | |
| Mar 1, 2018 | $4.0M Seed | Asylum Ventures |