Roslin Technologies announces investment from Kickstart Ventures

Roslin Technologies announces investment from Kickstart Ventures

Edinburgh-based food tech company, Roslin Technologies, is delighted to welcome Philippine-based Kickstart Ventures, through the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund, as an investor in the Company to support its mission to become the leading provider of animal cell lines to the global cultivated meat industry.

Cultivated meat is meat grown directly from animal cells without the need to raise animals. Roslin Technologies was spun out from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, the place where Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was born in the nineties. Now, more than 25 years later, Roslin Technologies is leading the field of developing pluripotent animal stem cells which have the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end-tissues for the cultivated meat industry such as fat and muscle cells. Roslin Technologies is making these cells available to cultivated meat producers globally and the Company currently has customers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Kickstart Ventures is a leading venture capital firm from the Philippines, backed by Ayala Corporation, the oldest and one of the largest conglomerates in the country. The firm has a track record in investing in companies that help resolve systemic issues in supply chains that impact the Philippines and beyond. It sees increasing food prices, a growing global protein gap, and the resulting risks around food insecurity as key challenges to the Philippines. The promise of cultivated meat for shorter supply chains, reduced production time, and comparable nutrition to conventional meat makes cultivated meat a compelling and scalable opportunity.

The strategic investment from Kickstart Ventures strengthens the Company’s footprint in Asia. It also expands Roslin Technologies’ international shareholder base, which already includes investors from the UK, Europe, Asia, and the US, demonstrating the global potential of Roslin Technologies’ offering.

Ernst van Orsouw, Roslin Technologies’ CEO, says:

“We are very excited about working with Kickstart. They are passionate about the company and bring a great footprint in Asia that will help us expand in that region.”

Minette Navarrete, President and Co-Founder of Kickstart Ventures, adds:

“This investment in Roslin Technologies is a milestone for Kickstart and the ACTIVE Fund. The ACTIVE Fund’s investment in Roslin Technologies feeds into our thesis of A World of Plenty, which invests in the future of resource availability—particularly in innovative technologies that reframe the scarcity and abundance of resources.

This investment is meaningful for the future of food security globally, especially in emerging markets like the Philippines. The persistent and complex issue of food insecurity demands multiple transformative solutions. The world’s capacity to feed a growing population is limited.

Roslin Technologies offers a solution that augments this limited capacity at scale and with speed. Roslin Technologies, with their scalable, IP-rich approach and innovative technology, offers a compelling and commercially attractive solution. Together, we strive to create a sustainable future for food and alleviate hunger and food insecurity.”

Natalie Black, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, said:

“Kickstart Ventures’ investment into Roslin Technologies highlights the strengths of the UK’s world-class $1 trillion tech sector, third in the world after the US and China. I look forward to seeing the breakthroughs that will come from this partnership and the difference it will make in the future of food security.”

Notes to editors:

About Roslin Technologies Limited

Based in Edinburgh, Roslin Technologies is an ambitious food and ag tech company focused on disruptive biotechnologies. The company’s core capabilities lie in developing and commercializing animal stem cells for the nascent global cultivated meat industry. Roslin Technologies was founded in 2017 as a venture between two investment firms and the University of Edinburgh, from which it has certain rights to commercialize intellectual property from the University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, a global leader in animal science. Visit roslintech.com and follow them on Twitter @roslintech.

About Kickstart Ventures

Established in 2012, Kickstart Ventures is a corporate venture capital (CVC) firm wholly-owned by the Philippines’ leading mobile operator, Globe Telecom. The company also advises the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund, the largest venture capital fund to come out of the Philippines, which invests in tech startups globally. Kickstart Ventures is one of the largest venture capital firms in the Philippines, with over 61 investments in 8 countries led by 130 founders.

The ACTIVE Fund, which is the firm’s third and latest fund (closed in 2020), is a thesis-driven fund that invests in four visions of the future:

  1. The Frictionless Future: Investing in the future of data and transactions—the seamless integration of online and offline lives, of digital and traditional channels.
  2. From Automation to Augmentation: Investing in the future of work—the symbiosis between Man and Machine, of Data and Context.
  3. Smarter Living: Investing in the future of property, homes, and community life.
  4. A World of Plenty: Investing in the future of resource availability and distribution—emerging technologies that reframe scarcity and abundance of resources.

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