In “SOSV 2021: The year in review,” SOSV Managing General Partner Sean O’Sullivan goes over the factors that drove a 40% increase in assets under management and lifted several portfolio companies to unicorn status in what was a “stunning” year for SOSV.
More important, O’Sullivan argues that the deep tech investing category has hit an inflection point, which is important to SOSV’s deeptech driven missions in human and planetary health. He cites the rapid increase in valuation of the SOSV Climate Tech 100, up 66% since last April to reach $10 billion, and the great progress of SOSV’s companies in the food sector, where SOSV is top-ranked. He cites the following:
- In July, NotCo, a 2017 IndieBio grad, raised a $235 million series D led by Tiger Global and reached a reported $1.5 billion valuation. NotCo is a food technology company that originated in Chile and makes plant-based milk and meat replacements.
- In September, Perfect Day, a 2014 RebelBio company, raised $350 million in a round led by Temasek that pushed the company to a reported $1.5 billion valuation. Perfect Day makes animal-free dairy products.
- In November, Upside Foods (FKA Memphis Meats), an IndieBio 2015 graduate, opened the world’s first commercial scale production facility, in Emeryville, California, for the production of sustainable, cultured meat.
- In December, The Every Company (FKA Clara Foods), another IndieBio 2015 graduate, raised $175 million and earlier this year reached an agreement with AB InBev to brew animal free proteins at industrial scale.
