Our partnership with Wild Type
I can’t picture my childhood in Boston without hot dogs and hamburgers sizzling on the grill after a soccer game. It’s hard to imagine my life now in San Francisco without sashimi and chicken karaage from my neighborhood izakaya. Meat is an important part of my diet, and eating meat is one of the key ways that I explore and experience different cultures.
I’m not alone. With a growing population and a rising global middle class armed with disposable income and seeking protein, not only do we love to eat meat, but we’re eating more and more of it. According to the World Health Organization, the average person globally will consume 45 kg of meat per year by 2030, double the per capita consumption of the mid-20th century.
At the same time, the downsides of meat consumption have never been more obvious. Many animals suffer terribly when they die for our consumption, and factory farming is cruel and environmentally damaging. Our oceans are overfished and contaminated with heavy metals and plastics, which affects downstream industries like fish farming. And that’s just the start.
Against this backdrop, a growing number of scientists, engineers, policy-makers, and entrepreneurs have seen the opportunity to satisfy this growing global hunger for meat more sustainably. We’ve been studying this space for several years at Spark; we see a compelling product innovation opportunity, a huge market, and many bright founders dedicating their lives to it.
When we first met Justin and Aryé from Wild Type in the fall of last year, they shared a big, technically audacious idea with us: to grow real meat directly from animal cells, obviating the need to kill any animals at all. As we got to know their team and their potential, we also saw the long-term opportunity to grow meat that’s healthier, tastier, and ultimately more affordable than what’s currently available.
I’m delighted to announce today that Spark has led Wild Type’s $3.5M seed round, investing alongside Root Ventures, Mission Bay Capital, Kyle Vogt, and others. I have joined Wild Type’s board, and my partner Nabeel Hyatt will also collaborate closely with the team.
What excites me most about working with Justin and Aryé is their passion for product: producing delicious, nutritious, and affordable food, and creating a bottoms-up movement among chefs and food-lovers. The team at Wild Type has only just begun to harness the energy in the food world for sustainable protein, and we are excited to see who else will join them on their journey.
More to come on Wild Type soon, but one hint for now: 🐟🐠🐙
