Novel Farms

What Novel Farms does

Novel Farms is a Berkeley, California-based cultivated meat company founded in 2020 that develops proprietary cell lines, serum-free media, and 3D scaffolding technology for producing cultivated animal cell products. The company's product portfolio includes non-GMO, non-tumorigenic, spontaneously immortalized chicken cell lines (NFC.GG1, NFC.GG2), porcine fibroblasts (NFC.SS1), and proprietary serum-free media formulations (NFMGG1, NFMGG2). Its core technical platform centers on a proprietary 3D scaffolding architecture described by NSF as 'disruptive,' which supports cell proliferation and tissue structuring outside of traditional 2D culture methods. The company applies AI/ML-driven predictive modeling, built on internal spectral analytics datasets, to optimize cell growth outputs and tune flavor, nutrition, and texture profiles.

The company's business model centers on supplying cultivated meat ingredients — cell lines, media, and scaffold-based tissue products — to downstream customers in the cultivated meat value chain. Its initial commercial beachhead is the pet food market via its partnership with Friends & Family Pet Food Company, a strategically lower-regulatory-barrier entry point relative to human food approval pathways. Novel Farms also sells to R&D institutions and cultivated meat developers. The company has raised approximately $2.7M in cumulative funding through a $1.4M pre-seed round (August 2022) and two NSF SBIR grants (Phase I in 2021, Phase II in 2023), with investors including Big Idea Ventures, Cult Food Science, Good Startup, Social Starts, and Sustainable Food Ventures.

The company operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees, anchored by founders with deep technical credentials: CEO Michelle Lu, PhD, with 20+ years in cell biology and 15+ years in mass spectrometry, and Co-Founder and CSO Nadja Heine, PhD. Novel Farms is a member of Biocom California, providing access to Bay Area biotech infrastructure, mentorship, and capital networks. The company remains in early-stage R&D and pre-commercial scaling, with no disclosed revenue and its first named commercial partnership announced in 2025.

Name

Novel Farms

Legal name

Novel Farms

Website

https://novelfarms.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Novel Farms is a Berkeley, California-based cultivated meat company founded in 2020 that develops proprietary cell lines, serum-free media, and 3D scaffolding technology to supply cultivated animal cell ingredients to pet food companies and cultivated meat developers, with its first commercial partnership with Friends & Family Pet Food Company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultivated Meat Ingredients

NAICS

Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116), Animal Food Manufacturing (31111), Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Meat Packing Plants (2011)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultivated (Cell-Based) Protein Foods Manufacturing (AFAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultivated Meat Producers (Cell-Cultured Meat & Seafood) (AFANAKAC), Cell Culture Media & Growth Factor Suppliers (Food-Grade) (AFANAKAD), Cell Line Development & Banking (Food/AG Cell Lines) (AFANAKAE), Specialty & Novel Proteins (Single-Cell Protein, Cell-Cultured/Animal-Free Proteins) (AFAJAHAL), Alternative Protein & Sustainable Pet Food (insect/plant/cell-based) (CRADAFAI)

Keywords

• Cultivated meat production
• Cell line development
• Cell culture media
• Alternative protein ingredients
• Biomanufacturing technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cell Lines and Media Products: Novel Farms generates revenue through the sale of proprietary cell lines (suspension chicken cells, porcine fibroblasts) and associated growth media supplements to food producers, cultivated meat companies, and R&D institutions. Products are sold directly via inquiry-based sales process.
2. Cultivated Ingredient Supply: Revenue from supplying cultivated animal cell ingredients to food and pet food manufacturers. Through the Friends & Family Pet Food partnership, the company supplies cultivated chicken ingredients for pet food applications.
3. Bioprocessing and R&D Services: Technical support, process optimization, scale-up services, and co-culture system development included with product purchases. This may extend to custom development partnerships with food producers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Novel Farms develops and sells proprietary animal cell lines (suspension chicken cells and porcine fibroblasts) and matched serum-free/low-serum growth media supplements, alongside a cultivated animal-cell biomanufacturing platform combining cell biology, AI-driven predictive modeling, and spectral analytics. The company's products enable scalable, slaughter-free production of cultivated meat ingredients and whole muscle cuts (including marbled pork loin) for food and pet food manufacturers.

Product overview

Novel Farms offers a portfolio of cultivated animal cell ingredients and biomanufacturing solutions for the alternative protein industry. Their product ecosystem consists of three specialized cell lines (suspension chicken cells NFC.GG1 and NFC.GG2, and porcine fibroblasts NFC.SS1) sold alongside two complementary growth media formulations (NFMGG1 and NFMGG2). The company has also developed a proprietary cultivated-animal-cell production platform that integrates AI-based predictive modeling with spectral analytics to optimize cell growth, flavor, and nutrition outcomes. Products are designed for scalability in bioreactor systems and target both pet food and human food ingredient applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Suspension Chicken Cells (NFC.GG1) Immortal suspension chicken cell line with spontaneous immortalization, non-tumorigenicity, and non-GMO origin. Adapted to low-serum conditions, with doubling time under 24 hours, designed for cost-sensitive and scale-driven cultivated meat production in bioreactor systems. Sold to food producers, cultivated meat companies, and R&D institutions via inquiry-based sales.
• Serum-Free Suspension Chicken Cells (NFC.GG2) Immortal suspension chicken cell line adapted to fully serum-free medium. Non-GMO, non-tumorigenic, fully suspension-adapted, regulatory-aligned platform that does not use fetal bovine serum (FBS). Designed for scalable bioreactor-based cultivated chicken production for food and pet food applications.
• Porcine Fibroblasts 100% Iberico (NFC.SS1) Primary fibroblasts isolated from 100% Iberian (Ibérico) pigs sourced in Valladolid, Spain. Heritage breed cells with distinctive lipid metabolism and tissue composition, maintained beyond 40 passages with no observable senescence. Suited for cultivated pork development, ECM production, and metabolic research. Sold to R&D institutions and cultivated meat developers.
• Low-Serum Media for Suspension Chicken Cells (NFMGG1) Proprietary low-serum growth medium supplement optimized for robust proliferation of suspension-adapted chicken cells while maintaining single-cell culture state. Reduces serum dependency and supports consistent expansion in shake flask and bioreactor systems. Sold via direct inquiry to cultivated meat developers and R&D institutions.
• Serum-Free Media for Suspension Chicken Cells (NFMGG2) Proprietary fully defined, serum-free growth medium supplement with DMEM/F12 base for suspension-adapted chicken cells. Contains no undefined components such as hydrolysates or extracts; sterile filtered at 0.22µm with 60-day stability after mixing. Enables improved reproducibility, process control, and regulatory alignment for cultivated meat production.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cells achieve doubling times of approximately 24 hours under standard conditions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Friends & Family Pet Food Company (FnF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2024Strategic partnership announced October 22, 2024 for the production of cultivated meat for cats and dogs. Novel Farms supplies cultivated chicken cell ingredients (using NFC.GG2 cells and NFMGG2 media) while FnF commercializes the pet food products. The partnership targets launch of cultivated meat pet food products in California by 2025. A second collaboration was announced April 9, 2025 expanding the partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UPSIDE Foods: UPSIDE Foods is the leading U.S. cultivated chicken and beef company (formerly Memphis Meats), with FDA and USDA approvals for cultivated chicken. Directly comparable to Novel Farms as a cultivated meat company targeting structured whole cuts and ingredient supply, though at far larger scale and Series C+ funding.
• Good Meat: Good Meat (a division of Eat Just) produces cultivated chicken and is one of only two companies with FDA/USDA approval in the U.S. It is a direct peer in cultivated chicken, bioreactor-based production, and B2B ingredient supply to food producers.
• Believer Meats: Believer Meats (formerly Future Meat Technologies) is a leading cultivated meat company with both chicken and beef platforms. Directly comparable in B2B cultivated ingredient supply, bioreactor scale-up, and multi-species cultivated meat strategy.
• Aleph Farms: Aleph Farms produces cultivated beef steaks using proprietary 3D bioprinting and scaffold technologies. Directly comparable to Novel Farms on the whole-cut, scaffolded cultivated meat thesis, though focused on beef rather than pork/poultry.
• Mosa Meat: Mosa Meat pioneered cultivated beef from stem cells and is developing structured whole cuts. Comparable as a cultivated meat platform company focused on whole muscle cuts and bioprocess scale-up, primarily in Europe.
• Mission Barns: Mission Barns produces cultivated pork fat and meat using a proprietary bioreactor platform. Directly comparable to Novel Farms on the cultivated pork and fat component focus, B2B ingredient supply model, and Bay Area location.
• BioCraft Pet Nutrition: BioCraft produces cultivated meat for the pet food industry using cell-cultured mouse meat and other animal proteins. Direct peer to Novel Farms in the cultivated pet food ingredient space and a potential competitor for the same customer base (FnF and other pet food manufacturers).
• Because Animals: Because Animals develops cultivated meat ingredients specifically for pet food using cellular agriculture. Direct peer to Novel Farms in cultivated pet nutrition, B2B ingredient supply, and early-stage commercialization targeting premium pet food brands.
• Wildtype: Wildtype produces cultivated salmon using proprietary cell lines and bioreactor processes. Comparable as a cultivated seafood/protein company targeting B2B ingredient supply to food producers and restaurants, with similar scaffold and cell line innovation focus.
• Meatable: Meatable produces cultivated pork and beef using a proprietary single-cell technology platform that avoids fetal bovine serum. Comparable to Novel Farms in cultivated pork focus, serum-free media innovation, and B2B ingredient supply model targeting European and U.S. markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novelfarms
• Xx.com/NovelFarms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novel Farms