BLUU BIOSCIENCES ATTRACTS MILLIONS IN SEED FUNDING

Cultivated seafood producer Bluu Biosciences has closed its seed funding round at €7 million, less than 10 months after it was founded.

The German biotech – which describes itself as the first company in Europe to specialise in cell-based fish – has brought in investment from Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as its home country.

Funds will be channelled into Bluu Biosciences’ research programme as well into product development, the company said in a statement.

Founded last year, Bluu Biosciences says that its products, produced from cultured fish cells, prevent animal welfare and environmental harms, issues recently highlighted in Netflix’s “Seaspiracy” documentary.

Dr Sebastian Rakers (pictured), Bluu Biosciences’ co-founder and managing director, said the early closure of the funding round showed “how compelling” the company’s technology was.

“It also showcases the incredible interest of great investors to support this kind of initiative,” said Dr Rakers, a former researcher at Fraunhofer Research Institution for Marine Biotechnology and Cell Engineering in Lübeck, which the company works with.

The cells used in producing the company’s cell-based or cultivated fish originate from non-GMO cell lines and are grown in a bioreactor containing a nutrient-rich medium.

According to Bluu Biosciences, products are nutritious, do not contain pollutants and can be made available in places without links to the sea.

Water and energy consumption, and the carbon footprint, are lower than with conventionally produced seafood, the company said.

The seed funding investors included Germany’s Be8, Norrsken of Sweden, Manta Ray Ventures and CPT Capital of the United Kingdom, and Lever VC of the United States.

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