Impossible Foods, the California-based food tech company that produces plant-based meat has raised USD 300 million in a Series E round led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing’s personal venture fund, Horizons Ventures, The Straits Times reports.
This funding round, also joined by celebrity investors Jay-Z, Trevor Noah, Katy Perry as well as tennis star Serena Williams, raises Impossible Foods’ total equity to USD 750 million. According to the company, the new capital will be used to ramp up its hiring procedure as well as expand the current production site in Oakland, California.
The new deal is Temasek’s second investment in Impossible Foods. The Singaporean state fund previously co-led a USD 114 million investment in 2018 alongside Hong Kong-based Sailing Capital. In the same sector, Temasek also invested in Modern Meadow, a company that produces lab-grown leather.
As a country without natural resources to rely on, Singapore has to be innovative to ensure the country survives, such as investing in new technologies. At the 11th Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council meeting held in March, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat revealed that USD 144 million will be allocated towards food research such as urban farming and lab-grown meat, demonstrating Singapore’s determination to be one of the frontrunners in foodtech innovation.