Impossible Foods secures US$500 million in funding to put towards research and innovation

Impossible Foods has secured about US$500 million in its latest round of funding, with the company using part of it to invest in fundamental research and innovation.

The latest “Series F” equity funding round closed late last week, led by new investor Mirae Asset Global Investments, with participation from existing investors including Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Temasek. Funding also included several notable individual investors as well, including tennis player Serena Williams, film director Peter Jackson, and musical artists Common, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Questlove, will.i.am, and Zedd.

The food-tech startup has raised nearly US$1.3 billion since its founding in 2011. The newest funding push will enable the company to scale up its manufacturing capabilities, expand its retail presence and availability in key international markets, and accelerate the commercialisation of new products.

"Our mission is to replace the world’s most destructive technology - the use of animals in food production - by 2035,” said Patrick O. Brown, founder and CEO of Impossible Foods. “To do that, we need to double production every year, on average, for 15 years and double down on research and innovation. The market has its ups and downs, but the global demand for food is always there, and the urgency of our mission only grows."

The funding push closely follows the launch of the company’s latest next-generation range of products, including Impossible Sausage and Impossible Pork, which debuted at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January 2020. The company states its Impossible Burger - available in over Hong Kong 400 restaurants - had an unprecedented sales surge in 2019.

Impossible Foods has also announced that it is taking aggressive measures to prioritise the health and safety of its employees, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include; mandatory work-from-home policies for all possible workers through the end of April, restrictions on external visitors to company facilities and a ban on virtually all work-related travel and events, and daily sanitizing, disinfecting and deep cleaning of all workplaces.

“Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our employees, customers and consumers,” Brown said. “And we recognize our responsibility for the welfare of our community, including the entire San Francisco Bay Area, our global supplier and customer network, millions of our customers, and billions of people who are relying on food manufacturers to produce supplies in times of need.”

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