Agronomics invests US$3.5 million in Liberation Labs seed round

According to Alliance News, Agronomics has invested US$3.5 million in precision fermentation contract manufacturer Liberation Labs Holdings Inc as part of its seed round.

The Isle of Man-based cellular agriculture investment firm made the investment as part of a US$20 million seed round in Liberation Labs, bringing its total investment to US$7 million, which is split over two tranches. Agronomics' first investment of US$3.5 million was made in October 2022.

Agronomics said Thia Ventures, an early-stage investor focusing on biotechnology, nutrition, and health, joins this latest close.

Liberation Labs will use the proceeds to finalize its site selection, complete pre-construction engineering, order long-lead time equipment, and continue to build out its team.

In June 2022, Agronomics invested US$627,000 in Liberation Labs' initial financing round. Agronomics said its investment, including the seed round, will be carried at US$22.4 million, including an unrealized gain of US$14.8 million. Agronomics will hold an equity stake of 37% in Liberation Labs.

Agronomics expects to begin the process of contracting fermentation capacity for its first facility, with plans ahead of a planned 2024 operational launch.

"Liberation Labs is developing state-of-the-art purpose-built fermentation infrastructure which will replace the existing fermentation capacity being used today which was built for other purposes and does not fit the need of most precision fermentation proteins," said Jim Mellon, Agronomics Executive Director.

Agronomics also announced its portfolio company Clean Food Group has received investment from Doehler Ventures to scale up its palm oil alternative, produced via a proprietary fermentation platform which has been developed over the past seven years at the University of Bath.

Doehler Ventures is the venture arm of Doehler Group, a global producer and provider of technology-based natural ingredients and ingredient systems for the food and beverage industries.