While the food technology investment sector was resolved last year, Miruku, a New Zealand-based food technology company, was busy getting ahead of molecular farming technology. That proactive strategy put the company “three to four years ahead of emerging competitors,” CEO Amos Palfreyman told TechCrunch.
“Miruku has not only sought to address the challenges posed by climate change affecting traditional dairy production, but has also expanded our focus to address critical food security and nutrition issues,” Palfreyman said in an email interview.
TechCrunch profiled the company in 2022 when it raised $2.4 million in seed funding to develop molecular agriculture technology to program plant cells to be mini-factories to produce proteins and other molecules, such as fats and sugars, traditionally made by animals.
Miruku is not the only one using molecular agriculture technologies to create dairy products. Mozza Foods and Nobell Foods also do it, but Palfreyman says his company focuses on business-to-business business and modifies both proteins and fats within the same plant. He also chose to use safflower as the main crop because of its resistance to climate.
Miruku management, from left, Thomas Buchanan, Ira Bing, Amos Palfreyman and Abby Thompson. Image credits: Miruku
Since the seed round, the company has made progress on its proprietary dairy seed system. Initially, Miruku focused on programming plants to produce milk proteins that could be extracted from seeds. That approach has since been expanded to take advantage of interactions between recombinant dairy casein and native plant proteins, with or without improved fatty acid profiles.
“This advancement allows us to use a larger portion of the seed, transforming it into a range of versatile ingredients designed for the food and beverage industry,” Palfreyman said. “We have now reached several key proof-of-concept milestones that demonstrate the viability and potential of the dairy seed system.”
During that time, the company also tripled the size of its team and formed relationships with several food manufacturing partners for some co-development opportunities. Additionally, Miruku expanded its presence to Israel and Australia, which was selected as a launch pad for initial market entry.
Today, the company announced $5 million in what Palfreyman called a pre-Series A round. It was led by Motion Capital and included seed round investor Movac and new investor NZVC. He did not reveal the valuation, but did say it was a “bullish round.”
The new capital allows Miruku to expand its crop development efforts. This includes a partnership with CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), the Australian government agency responsible for scientific research. As such, the company will take its modified safflower varieties to field trials in Australia, Palfreyman said.
“Above all, our priority is to advance our technology and move toward market readiness,” Palfreyman said. “This includes expanding our presence in Australia and looking to establish a presence in the United States.”