What Jellatech does

Jellatech is a North Carolina-based B2B biotechnology company founded in 2020 that produces bio-identical collagen through cellular agriculture. The company's proprietary platform uses mammalian cell culture to manufacture full-length, triple-helical collagen structurally identical to native human collagen, requiring only a one-time 3mm skin biopsy to establish scalable, proprietary cell lines. Its core product is Human Type I Atelo-Collagen, currently offered for research-use-only with greater than 95% purity, ~300 kDa molecular weight, and telopeptide regions removed for reduced immunogenicity; a Human Type I Telo-Collagen variant with intact telopeptides is in development for applications requiring higher fibrillogenesis. The platform has previously demonstrated translatability to bovine and porcine collagen variants.

The business operates as a B2B supplier with a quote-based direct sales model targeting enterprise customers across biomedical and health, pharmaceutical, research and development, beauty and personal care, materials and processes, and food and beverage verticals. Stated use cases include tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, 3D bioprinting, dermal fillers, cell and gene therapy, drug delivery, wound healing, and cosmetic formulations. Jellatech began commercial sample deliveries in December 2024 and January 2025 with ongoing monthly sample production. The company is led by Founder and CEO Stephanie Michelsen and is venture-backed with approximately $5.5 million raised across pre-seed ($2M, April 2021) and seed ($3.5M, August 2023 led by byFounders) rounds. It is in an early commercialization phase, with a new 9,000 sq ft Morrisville, NC facility (occupied November 2024) targeted for GLP certification by 2026 to support clinical- and industrial-grade biomedical supply.

Name

Jellatech

Legal name

Jellatech Inc.

Website

https://jellatech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jellatech is a B2B biotechnology company producing bio-identical human Type I collagen through cellular agriculture. The Raleigh, NC-based firm supplies triple-helical collagen to biomedical, pharmaceutical, research, and personal care customers via a quote-based direct sales model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bio-identical Collagen Manufacturing

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Novel Proteins (Single-Cell Protein, Cell-Cultured/Animal-Free Proteins) (AFAJAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultivated (Cell-Based) Protein Foods Manufacturing (AFAKAGAI), Proteins & Functional Nutrition Ingredients (Plant/Animal Proteins, Collagen, Amino Acids) (CRADAOAJ), Collagen, Gelatin & Protein Hydrolysates (Animal-Derived) (AFANAGAI)

Keywords

• Bio-identical collagen production
• Cellular agriculture platform
• Animal-free proteins
• Human collagen manufacturing
• Biotech B2B supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bio-identical Collagen Protein Sales: Jellatech generates revenue through the sale of its cell-cultured, bio-identical human Type I collagen products to B2B customers in biomedical, pharmaceutical, medical aesthetics, and research sectors. Products are offered in research-use-only formats, with future plans for clinical- and industrial-grade biomaterials. The company operates on a quote-based, direct sales model targeting enterprise buyers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Jellatech develops and sells bio-identical human Type I collagen (and other complex proteins) produced via proprietary cellular agriculture and synthetic biology. Products are supplied as research-use-only collagen materials—currently Human Type I Atelo-Collagen with telopeptide regions removed—alongside a pipeline of Telo-Collagen variants, targeting B2B customers in biomedical, pharmaceutical, medical aesthetics, research, beauty/personal care, and food & beverage sectors.

Product overview

Jellatech is a biotechnology company producing bio-identical complex proteins through cellular agriculture and synthetic biology. The company's product portfolio centers on Human Type I Collagen, offered in two variants: Human Type I Atelo-Collagen (currently available for research use, with telopeptide regions removed for superior biocompatibility) and Human Type I Telo-Collagen (in development, with intact telopeptides for enhanced mechanical integrity). Both products are produced via the company's proprietary cellular agriculture platform, which creates scalable, ethical, animal-free collagen identical to native human tissue-derived collagen. The platform previously supported bovine and porcine collagen development and has expanded to focus on human collagen for biomedical applications including regenerative medicine, medical aesthetics, tissue engineering, and therapeutic solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human Type I Atelo-Collagen Highly purified (>95%), full-length, triple-helical human Type I collagen with telopeptide regions removed for superior biocompatibility and reduced immunogenicity. Currently offered for research-use only, targeting cell culture models, drug delivery systems, and injectable biomaterials, with ~300 kDa molecular weight and verified triple-helix integrity.
• Human Type I Telo-Collagen Human Type I telo-collagen with intact telopeptide regions offering exceptional biomimicry and mechanical integrity, with preserved telopeptides enabling superior fibrillogenesis and tissue integration for applications requiring full tissue mimicry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Collagen purity >95% achieved through proprietary purification methodology
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Matthew KanecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024Matthew Kane, CEO of Celyad Oncology and former CEO of Tune Therapeutics and Precision BioSciences, joined Jellatech's advisory board. He brings over two decades of biotechnology expertise including raising over $100M and leading initiatives that raised over $400M in funding and formed partnerships exceeding $4.7B in value. His expertise supports Jellatech's commercial strategy, licensing, and therapeutic applications.
• Dr. Bill PolacheckcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024Dr. Bill Polacheck, Assistant Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC and NC State and Cell Biology and Physiology at UNC School of Medicine, joined Jellatech's advisory board. His expertise in biomechanics, extracellular proteins, 3D microfluidics, and human tissue modeling accelerates Jellatech's advancements in human tissue modeling and collagen innovation.
• Ryan BethencourtminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2024Ryan Bethencourt, CEO of Wild Earth Inc., serves on Jellatech's board of directors, contributing strategic guidance on sustainable biotechnology and alternative protein commercialization.
• Peter AndersenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2024Peter Andersen, Chief Research & Development Officer at TreeFrog Therapeutics, serves on Jellatech's board of directors, providing R&D strategy expertise in cell-based protein production.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Geltor: Geltor is the most direct competitor to Jellatech: it produces animal-free, bio-identical collagen and other proteins via precision fermentation and cell-based processes for beauty, nutrition, and biomedical applications. Both target the same B2B opportunity of replacing animal-derived collagen with cell-cultured alternatives.
• Modern Meadow: Modern Meadow applies biofabrication and cellular agriculture to produce bio-based leather and protein materials, including collagen-like proteins for biomedical applications. Comparable to Jellatech in its use of cellular agriculture for complex protein production at B2B scale.

Broad incumbents

• Gelita: Gelita is one of the world's largest producers of gelatin and collagen peptides from animal sources, serving pharma, nutrition, and technical applications. It is the dominant incumbent whose supply chain Jellatech is directly competing to disrupt.
• Rousselot: Rousselot is a global leader in gelatin and collagen-based solutions for food, pharma, and nutrition, owned by Darling Ingredients. It represents the established, at-scale animal-derived competitor that Jellatech must displace in biomedical and F&B accounts.
• PB Leiner: PB Leiner is a major global gelatin and collagen producer serving food, pharma, and technical applications. As an incumbent with industrial-scale capacity, it is a direct baseline competitor against which Jellatech's bio-identical positioning must justify premium pricing.
• Nitta Gelatin: Nitta Gelatin is a Japan-based established collagen and gelatin manufacturer with global biomedical and food ingredient reach. Comparable to Jellatech as a collagen supplier to pharma/biomedical end markets, but with a much larger installed base.

Emerging players

• Perfect Day: Perfect Day uses precision fermentation to produce animal-free dairy proteins and is expanding its cell-based protein platform to adjacent ingredients. Comparable to Jellatech as a capital-intensive alternative-protein challenger using synthetic biology at industrial scale.
• Motif FoodWorks: Motif FoodWorks develops animal-free protein ingredients using fermentation and food science for meat and dairy alternatives. It overlaps with Jellatech in applying cellular/synthetic biology to develop B2B alternative protein ingredients for the food industry.
• Believer Meats: Believer Meats (formerly Future Meat Technologies) is a cultivated meat company using cellular agriculture to produce animal cell-grown meat products. Comparable to Jellatech in core cellular agriculture technology stack, though applied to a different end product category.
• Cellva Ingredients: Cellva Ingredients is a Brazilian cellular agriculture company producing animal-free fats and functional ingredients via cell cultivation. It is comparable to Jellatech as an emerging player applying cell-cultivation technology to produce B2B specialty food/biotech ingredients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jellatech
• Instagraminstagram.com/jellatech.inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors13 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 Jellatech