NUProtein
NUProtein is a Tokushima, Japan-based biotech startup (founded 2016) that uses genetically modified rice in greenhouse environments to produce growth factors and functional proteins at up to 40,000x lower cost, serving cultivated meat, pharmaceutical, and cellular agriculture customers via licensing and joint-development partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersTokushima, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What NUProtein does
NUProtein Co., Ltd. is a privately held Japanese biotech startup founded in 2016 and headquartered in Tokushima, Japan. The company has developed a Plant Molecular Farming Platform that uses genetically modified rice cultivated in greenhouse-type closed environments to produce growth factors and functional proteins. Its branded product line, OmnivoRice, delivers these proteins at what the company claims is up to a 40,000x cost reduction versus conventional production methods, primarily targeting the cultivated meat and broader cellular agriculture industries where growth factor cost is the dominant production bottleneck. The technology is positioned as a capital-efficient alternative to stainless-steel bioreactor-based recombinant protein production.
The company operates a B2B go-to-market centered on enterprise customers in cultivated meat, pharmaceutical R&D, and biotechnology. Revenue is generated through licensing of the plant molecular farming platform technology and joint-development arrangements in which NUProtein co-develops custom growth factor and functional protein solutions with partner companies. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and there is no evidence of standardized product pricing; relationships appear bespoke and partnership-driven rather than transactional.
NUProtein is at an early commercial stage. Total disclosed external funding is approximately USD 1.01 million across two rounds in 2018 and 2020, headcount is reported as 1–10 employees, and no revenue has been disclosed. The company is led by founder and CEO Masataka Minami and Chief Manufacturing Officer Hiroaki Tada. Operating geography is listed as Japan, though its English-language site and broader cultivated-meat/cellular-agriculture market positioning suggest intent to serve international partners. No patents, regulatory actions, M&A activity, or named customer logos are disclosed in the available data.
NUProtein firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NUProtein
- Legal name
- NUProtein Co., Ltd.
- Website
- https://nuprotein.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NUProtein is a Tokushima, Japan-based biotech startup (founded 2016) that uses genetically modified rice in greenhouse environments to produce growth factors and functional proteins at up to 40,000x lower cost, serving cultivated meat, pharmaceutical, and cellular agriculture customers via licensing and joint-development partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NUProtein industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recombinant Protein Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Crop Production (111)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- 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), Gene Editing Trait Development (CRISPR/TALEN/ZFN) (AFABALAB)
Keywords
Where NUProtein is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokushima
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
NUProtein business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Licensing and Technology Transfer: The company offers licensing of its plant molecular farming platform technology to partner companies for protein production
- Joint Development Services: Co-development partnerships with companies requiring custom growth factor and protein production solutions
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
NUProtein product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NUProtein produces growth factors and functional proteins from genetically modified rice using its proprietary plant molecular farming platform, marketed under the OmnivoRice brand. The platform enables safe, sustainable, and scalable bioproduction in greenhouse-style closed environments, with the company claiming up to a 40,000x cost reduction versus conventional growth factor production. The offering is delivered to enterprise customers through licensing and joint development partnerships in the cultivated meat, cellular agriculture, and pharmaceutical/biotech sectors.
Product overview
NUProtein Co., Ltd. offers a unified product portfolio centered on its Plant Molecular Farming Platform and the OmnivoRice product line. The platform uses greenhouse-type closed environments with genetically modified rice to produce growth factors and functional proteins at scale. The OmnivoRice brand represents the premium protein products derived from this platform. The company claims cost reductions of up to 40,000x compared to conventional growth factor production, enabling the cultivated meat and cellular agriculture industries to move from research applications to commercial production. NUProtein provides co-development and licensing partnerships with enterprise customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OmnivoRice: Premium proteins from rice - a platform producing growth factors and functional proteins from genetically modified rice for the cultivated meat and cellular agriculture industry.
Products and services
- OmnivoRice Premium proteins produced from rice using NUProtein's proprietary plant molecular farming technology, offered to enterprise customers in the cultivated meat and cellular agriculture industries seeking cost-effective growth factors and functional proteins.
- Plant Molecular Farming Platform Greenhouse-style closed environment production platform using genetically modified rice for safe, sustainable, and scalable production of growth factors and functional proteins, delivered to partner companies through licensing and co-development arrangements.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40,000x cost reduction in growth factor production
Companies that use NUProtein
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NUProtein technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
NUProtein partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Partner CompaniescoreNUProtein collaborates with partner companies for joint development and licensing of its plant molecular farming platform. The company offers co-development arrangements for companies seeking customized growth factor and functional protein production solutions.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NUProtein competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tiamat Sciences: Plant molecular farming company producing growth factors and complex proteins for cellular agriculture and regenerative medicine. Uses plant-based expression systems to drastically reduce protein production costs, directly competing with NUProtein in the same niche.
- BioBetter: Uses tobacco plant molecular farming to produce growth factors (especially FGF2) for the cultivated meat industry. Direct competitor to NUProtein in plant-based growth factor production with similar cost-reduction value proposition.
Broad incumbents
- Perfect Day: Precision fermentation company producing animal-free dairy proteins at commercial scale. While focused on food proteins rather than growth factors, it serves the same cellular agriculture/alternative protein customer base and competes for the same investment dollars.
- The EVERY Company (formerly Clara Foods): Precision fermentation company producing animal-free proteins including egg proteins and other functional ingredients. Serves the alternative protein customer base that overlaps with NUProtein's cultivated meat and cellular agriculture targets.
- Air Protein: Uses gas fermentation (hydrogenotrophs) to produce protein ingredients for alternative protein applications. Serves the cellular agriculture ecosystem but uses a fundamentally different production technology.
Emerging players
- Geltor: Precision fermentation company producing animal-free proteins for food, beauty, and nutrition. Uses microbial fermentation rather than plant molecular farming but targets similar B2B customers in cellular agriculture and functional protein markets.
- Culture Biosciences: Provides fermentation and bioreactor services for protein production, serving biotech companies developing therapeutic and industrial proteins. Competes in protein production services space with different underlying technology.
- Moolec Science: Uses plant-based molecular farming (in safflower and other crops) to produce functional proteins for food applications. Direct analog to NUProtein's approach with broader food protein focus rather than growth factors specifically.
- Innogrit Bio: Cell-free protein synthesis company providing cell-free expression systems and services for protein production. Represents an alternative technology approach to the same underlying protein production market that NUProtein serves.
- Solar Biotech: Bioprocessing infrastructure provider for cellular agriculture and synbio companies, offering CDMO services for protein and bioproduct manufacturing. Adjacent competitor in enabling protein production for cellular agriculture customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NUProtein social profiles
Digital presenceNUProtein financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NUProtein leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
NUProtein funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NUProtein M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NUProtein
What does NUProtein do?
NUProtein produces growth factors and functional proteins from genetically modified rice using its proprietary plant molecular farming platform, marketed under the OmnivoRice brand. The platform enables safe, sustainable, and scalable bioproduction in greenhouse-style closed environments, with the company claiming up to a 40,000x cost reduction versus conventional growth factor production. The offering is delivered to enterprise customers through licensing and joint development partnerships in the cultivated meat, cellular agriculture, and pharmaceutical/biotech sectors.
Is NUProtein a public or private company?
NUProtein is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was NUProtein founded?
NUProtein was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NUProtein based?
NUProtein is headquartered in Tokushima, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does NUProtein make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Licensing and Technology Transfer is the primary driver. The others are joint Development Services.
Who are NUProtein's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tiamat Sciences and BioBetter. Broad incumbents are Perfect Day, The EVERY Company (formerly Clara Foods) and Air Protein. Emerging players are Geltor, Culture Biosciences, Moolec Science, Innogrit Bio and Solar Biotech.
Does NUProtein have an API?
No public API is recorded for NUProtein.
What industry is NUProtein in?
NUProtein's product category is Recombinant Protein Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAJAHAL, Specialty & Novel Proteins (Single-Cell Protein, Cell-Cultured/Animal-Free Proteins), with a secondary code of AFAKAGAI, Cultivated (Cell-Based) Protein Foods Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 111 and its SIC code is 2836.