CULT Food Science Corp (CSE:CULT, OTCQB:CULTF) said it has entered into a partnership with LYTA Ventures to support the development of early-stage cellular agriculture companies in LYTA Ventures' studio model across North America.
The company said the exceptionally high barrier to entry for new companies pursuing cellular agriculture makes the venture studio model ideal for accelerating the development of critical new technologies.
It said companies launched through a venture studio approach reach a Series A capital raise twice as fast as non-venture studio startups and are 1.5 times more successful, with an average rate of return of 53%.
In exchange for its partnership and involvement, CULT will receive management fee revenue and equity ownership in start-ups launched by the studio.
"Cellular agriculture is one of the few high potential options we have to address the impact of food production on climate change, as well as enabling new ways to grow and experience food that has never been possible before," said Lejjy Gafour, CEO of CULT in a statement.
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"We are at the forefront of the next future of food, and partnering with LYTA Ventures will allow CULT Food Science to access and enable the highest value start-ups and biotechnologies on the planet. The future will not wait for us, we have to build towards an impactful bioeconomy with intention and focus," Gafour added.
LYTA Ventures works with institutions to surface untapped opportunities and build scalable companies to capture them. Founded by Clair Purcell, a former BCGX and Newlab executive, the LYTA team is made up of strategists, designers, operators and product builders in biotechnology and hardware who are "obsessed with bringing unseen opportunities together with high potential human talent to build and grow businesses that will bring our world back into balance", CULT said.
It pointed out that the infrastructure required for production, research, talent, and commercialization of new cellular agriculture start-ups is substantial, consuming a large percentage of early-stage rounds. The venture studio and its collaborators will support early-stage cellular agriculture companies by providing cost-efficient access to the required resources and talent, as well as an established network of partners, such as the Institute of Cellular Agriculture.
Cellular agriculture is projected to be a $90 billion market by 2030 and its novel technologies could feed the growing global population with just a fraction of the land and resources used in conventional agriculture, CULT noted.
"Culturing food is a vital piece of our zero carbon future. We don't have time to wait for the serendipitous alignment of scientific discovery, commercialization talent, and operational efficiency that is the typical nucleus of biotechnology companies," said Clair Purcell, CEO and Founder of LYTA Ventures.
"The venture studio model intentionally brings together these elements to surface white space and build experienced teams around it to scale quickly. We are thrilled to partner with CULT to bring this model to the cellular agriculture space, where there are so many untapped opportunities," Purcell added.
CULT Food Science is the first publicly-traded company of its kind in North America, pioneering the investment, development, and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products. Through its global portfolio of affiliates, the company provides investors with unprecedented exposure to the most innovative start-up, private or early-stage cultivated meat, cell-based dairy, and other cultured food companies around the world.
CULT Foods, a division of CULT Food Science, creates breakthrough products that provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution for the future of food, with the mission to make cell-based foods a part of everyday life.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com