IndieBio’s Multus Biotechnology (formerly Multus Media) has raised a $9.5M Series A round to build a production facility for growth media.

The UK-based startup (part of the IndieBio NY01 2020 class) received support from lead investor Mandi Ventures along with SOSV, Big Idea Ventures, SynBioVen, and Asahi Kasei Corp. The Series A raise builds on Multus’ 2021 raise of $2.2M and the launch of the company’s first one-size-fits all growth media, Proliferum M, which eliminates the need for fetal bovine serum (fetal calves’ blood) in cell cultures. 

In an interview with The Spoon, Multus Biotechnology CEO and co-founder explained the technology: “We combine novel ingredient discovery with intelligent formulation design to create high performance growth media suited for the cellular agriculture industry. For example, we use precision fermentation and computational protein design to make growth factors affordable and unlock capabilities in growth media design.”

Multus launched in 2020 with a mission to create animal-free growth media for the cultivated meat industry—specifically, to grow muscle, fat, and connective tissue cells for poultry, meat, and seafood. Multus will target the cultivated meat supply chain without growing the meat itself, as Business Insider highlighted. Multus’ growth media alternative to fetal bovine serum provides cells with the nutrients they need to grow and has the potential to speed cultivated meats to market. The Spoon reported that Multus has big plans to bring a range of products to market in 2023, including a growth media specifically for beef. The company plans to expand to growth media for animal-free dairy and leather as well.