Multus

What Multus does

Multus is a London-based biotechnology company founded in 2020 that develops AI-designed cell culture media for biomanufacturing and cellular agriculture. The company addresses the industry's reliance on animal-derived serum (e.g., fetal bovine serum) by engineering serum-free formulations and recombinant proteins that can be qualified into regulated production processes. Its core platform, MediOP™, integrates artificial intelligence, robotic automation, and cell biology to design and test optimized growth media, creating a design–test–learn loop that is intended to accelerate formulation development versus traditional empirical R&D.

The company's commercial product portfolio spans the Proliferum line (M, B, P, LSR, and FG-DMEM/F12 formulations) and recombinant proteins including Vitronectin. It serves three distinct customer segments — cellular agriculture (cultivated meat), biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). Multus has obtained ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 food-safety certifications, positioning the product line for food-grade and cultivated-meat applications in addition to pharma-grade uses.

Multus generates revenue through direct product sales of media formulations and recombinant proteins to biomanufacturers and cellular agriculture companies. The company has raised approximately $11.55 million in disclosed funding across a 2021 early-stage round ($2.05M) and a January 2023 Series A ($9.5M). With a headcount of 11–50 employees and three product launches in the first half of 2025, Multus appears to be in an early commercial scaling phase, with the Series A capital supporting product extension, certifications, and customer-acquisition activity across its three target segments.

Name

Multus

Legal name

Multus Biotechnology

Website

https://multus.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cell Culture Media / Bioprocess Reagents

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Other Animal Food Manufacturing (311119)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (upstream/downstream) (HLAAAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bioprocess Consumables & Reagents (resins, membranes, media components, buffers) (HLAAAJAI), Cell Therapy Manufacturing Services (GMP, autologous/allogeneic) (HLAAAKAC), Cell Culture & Bioprocess Lab Equipment (Bioreactors, Single-Use Systems, Controllers) (HLAGAIAG)

Keywords

• Cell culture media
• AI-driven media design
• Serum-free formulations
• Biomanufacturing solutions
• Cultivated meat media

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom media development services: Tiered professional services across Catalog (off-the-shelf), Express (1–3 months), Boost (3–6 months), and De Novo (6–9 months) media design engagements. Pricing is determined after a technical consultation and is not publicly disclosed; supports land-and-expand with repeat biopharma/ATMP customers.
2. Catalog product sales: Direct sale of off-the-shelf, ready-made ACF/serum-free formulations (Proliferum B, Proliferum P, Proliferum LSR, Vitronectin, FG-DMEM/F12) sold via own website and channel distributors such as Appleton Woods in the UK; also available in 500 mL and 1L bottles for immediate testing.
3. Global media supply at commercial scale: Supply of custom media at scale (rapid prototyping in London facility plus global scalable production through partner network); recurring supply agreements with biomanufacturing customers across countries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Multus designs and supplies animal component-free cell culture media for cellular agriculture, biologics, and advanced therapy developers using its MediOP™ AI platform. Its offerings include custom media development services (Express 1–3 months, Boost 3–6 months, De Novo 6–9 months), off-the-shelf catalog products (Proliferum® M/B/P/LSR, FG-DMEM/F12, Vitronectin), and scalable supply from its FSSC 22000-certified London facility through a global partner network.

Product overview

Multus offers a single platform-plus-product portfolio built around its proprietary AI-enabled media design platform MediOP™, which sits at the intersection of AI, high-throughput robotic automation, and cell biology. The platform powers four customer-facing solution tracks: Services (Express, Boost, and De Novo tiers for custom media development), Catalog (off-the-shelf ready-made formulations), and Supply (scalable manufacturing through Multus' London facility and global partner network). The Catalog product line currently includes serum replacement products Proliferum® M, Proliferum® B, Proliferum® P, and Proliferum® LSR, the recombinant protein Vitronectin, and the food-grade basal media FG-DMEM/F12 — all 100% animal-component-free and developed via MediOP™ in a fraction of the time of traditional media development. Multus serves three primary customer segments: Cellular Agriculture (cultivated meat, seafood, and materials), Biologics, and Advanced Therapies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Proliferum® M: First Multus product; an all-in-one animal-component-free serum replacement demonstrated to grow muscle, fat and connective tissue cells from mammals, birds and seafood.
• Proliferum® LSR
• Proliferum® B
• Proliferum® P
• FG-DMEM/F12 (DMEM/F12-FG)
• Vitronectin (recombinant human protein)
• MediOP™

Products and services

• MediOP™ AI-enabled media design platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 5x lower cost than traditional serum-containing media (Proliferum B) while matching 10% FBS growth performance
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship multi-stakeholder consortium member, materials/cultivated leather partner, key ai co-development partner, flagship cultivated-meat r&d partner, research validation partner, standards consortium member, academic research partner, standards body partner, non-profit ecosystem partner, flagship co-development partner, key channel partner for uk life sciences, foundational host and origin partner, strategic cultivated-fish partner, technology integration partner, analytics integration partner, acf microcarrier co-development partner, materials/structured meat partner and network supporter.

• CRAFT Consortium (RespectFarms, Wageningen University & Research, Mosa Meat, Aleph Farms, Kipster, Royal Kuijpers)flagship multi-stakeholder consortium memberStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Multus is a member of the CRAFT Consortium awarded a €2M grant (co-funded by EU-backed accelerator EIT Food) to build the world's first cultivated meat farm at Schipluiden, South Holland, Netherlands; launched the Cell Farmers Symposium with RespectFarms and South Holland province.
• Cultivated Biomaterialsmaterials/cultivated leather partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025Multus supplies culture media components to Cultivated Biomaterials (Raleigh, NC) for Angelry, the world's first lab-grown leather jewellery line; partnership expands into fashion goods like cardholders.
• New Wave Biotechkey ai co-development partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2025AI bioprocess optimisation partnership using New Wave Biotech's software to virtually experiment on cultivated meat processes; achieved a 55% production cost reduction for cultivated meat applications. Funded by Innovate UK Engineering Biology grant.
• Quest Meatflagship cultivated-meat r&d partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2024£1M Innovate UK co-funded R&D partnership (with UCL) to co-develop CULT-GRO, a low-cost cell culture ingredients platform for cultivated meat scale-up. Quest Meat is Multus' growth media partner of choice.
• University College London (UCL) — Dept. of Biochemical Engineeringresearch validation partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 9 January 2024UCL's Department of Biochemical Engineering provides world-leading research support and bioreactor-based validation studies for the Quest Meat × Multus CULT-GRO project, led by Assistant Professor Petra Hanga.
• Vireo Advisorsstandards consortium memberStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023Member of Innovate UK-funded consortium led by Multus to develop global safety testing standards for cultivated meat media ingredients.
• Aberystwyth University (Dr Ruth Wonfor)academic research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023Provides analytical chemistry expertise and access to the Advanced Analysis Centre at the AberInnovation Innovation and Enterprise Campus for safety evaluation work in the cultivated-meat standards consortium.
• British Standards Institute (BSI)standards body partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023Consortium member supporting dissemination and consensus-based standards development for cultivated meat safety testing, alongside New Harvest.
• New Harvestnon-profit ecosystem partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023Non-profit cellular agriculture research accelerator; consortium member supporting cultivated-meat safety standards dissemination.
• Extracellularflagship co-development partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2023Co-developed the first licence-free cultivated meat cell bank with Multus; cells up to 90% cheaper than other providers, free from licensing restrictions. Funded by Innovate UK grant.
• Appleton Woodskey channel partner for uk life sciencesChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 April 2023Exclusive UK distribution agreement for Multus' Advanced Serum-Free media range (e.g., Proliferum LSR) and recombinant human protein Vitronectin, supplying UK life-science researchers.
• Imperial College London (White City Innovation Campus)foundational host and origin partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultus originated in 2020 from scientists and engineers at Imperial College London and is based at Imperial's White City Innovation Campus, accessing multidisciplinary research facilities and talent.
• Fishwaystrategic cultivated-fish partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to develop scalable, cost-effective cultivated fish by combining Fishway's fish cell line expertise with Multus' AI-driven growth media optimisation platform.
• PROGENtechnology integration partnerTechnology or IntegrationMultus integrated PROGEN's Pan AAV Capsid Titer Assay with Analytik Jena's CyBio FeliX liquid handler, upscaling AAV titer determination from 96 to 384-well format with 11.4% mean inter-assay CV.
• Analytik Jena (CyBio FeliX)technology integration partnerTechnology or IntegrationAutomation partner whose CyBio FeliX liquid handler was integrated by Multus with PROGEN's AAV assay for 384-well automated validation.
• Valita (Valita Titer IgG Assay)analytics integration partnerTechnology or IntegrationHigh-throughput Valita Titer IgG assay integrated with Multus' MediOP™ platform for CHO media optimisation case study.
• Nexture Bioacf microcarrier co-development partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerValidated Proliferum B with Nexture Bio's ACF microcarriers across multiple experiments; the two companies are co-developing recommended concentration ranges and seeding densities for different cell types.
• Salleamaterials/structured meat partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultus Food-Grade DMEM-F12 + sallea's ProteinPURE scaffolds demonstrated significantly higher metabolic activity on day 0 vs pharmaceutical-grade DMEM-F12 in structured cultivated meat case study.
• Climate-KICnetwork supporterOthersEIT Climate-Knowledge Innovation Community (Climate-KIC); referenced as part of Multus' "Our Network" supporters and acknowledged on the About page.
• EIT FoodOthers

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global leader in cell culture media (Gibco) and bioprocessing consumables, with established GMP-grade formulations for CHO, HEK, and vaccine production. Directly comparable as Multus' primary competitor for biologics and ATMP media spend, though Multus' AI-driven design and animal-component-free positioning is differentiated.
• Sartorius: Biopharmaceutical equipment and consumables supplier including cell culture media, bioreactors, and process analytics. Competes with Multus on bioprocess media and is a likely incumbent benchmark for any biopharma media qualification cycle.
• Cytiva: Danaher-owned bioprocessing platform offering cell culture media, single-use technologies, and process development services for biologics manufacturing. Overlaps with Multus' CHO/biologics and ATMP media offerings as part of a broader bioprocess portfolio.
• Lonza Group: Combined CDMO and cell-culture media supplier serving biologics, cell and gene therapy, and emerging modalities. Competes with Multus across mammalian cell media and is actively expanding serum-free offerings in adjacent ATMP and cellular agriculture segments.

Emerging players

• Cradle Bio: AI platform for protein and bioproduct engineering using generative ML models to design improved enzymes and biologics. Comparable as an AI-native biology design platform targeting industrial biopharma customers, though focused upstream of media on the protein itself.
• Culture Biosciences: Cloud-based high-throughput bioreactor platform offering automated fermentation experimentation and data infrastructure for bioprocess development. Comparable in combining automation, ML, and bioprocess data to compress development timelines, but focused on microbial fermentation rather than mammalian cell media.
• STEMCELL Technologies: Specialty life-sciences reagent supplier of serum-free media, cell separation products, and primary cell lines for academic, stem cell, and ATMP markets. Directly comparable to Multus' Proliferum LSR and Vitronectin catalog for life-science researchers.

Others

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Horizontal synthetic biology platform combining automated labs, codebases, and engineered organisms for industrial biotech customers. An adjacent platform rather than direct competitor, but represents the broader AI-driven biomanufacturing competitive backdrop.
• New Wave Biotech: AI bioprocess optimization software partner of Multus, focused on simulation and cost reduction for cultivated meat and alternative protein production. Listed as an ecosystem partner delivering the joint 55% cultivated-meat cost reduction case study.

Direct peers

• Bota Bio: AI-native synthetic biology and biomanufacturing platform using machine learning, automation, and engineered strains to develop ingredients and materials. Most directly comparable peer to Multus as an AI-first bioprocess design company targeting similar sustainability and industrial biology customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/multusmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/multus-media

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors11 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 Multus