CANADIAN CELLULAR AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE

What CANADIAN CELLULAR AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE does

Cellular Agriculture Canada (CAC) is a non-profit coalition initiative established in 2023 and led by New Harvest Canada, a registered Canadian charity (#71198 5135 RR 0001). The organization convenes key stakeholders — including startups, academic and research institutions, government bodies, infrastructure providers, and non-profits — to advance Canada's cellular agriculture ecosystem, which applies cell culture and tissue engineering to produce agricultural products such as cultivated meat, seafood, dairy, flavors, and coffee without traditional animal agriculture. CAC operates six action areas: developing a national blueprint for Canadian leadership, policy engagement, enabling collaboration across the innovation pipeline, attracting public and private funding, public engagement and science communication, and purpose-built talent development. The coalition includes 30+ member organizations such as Future Fields, Opalia Foods, Hyasynth Bio, Liven Proteins, Myo-Palate, The Better Butchers, the University of Alberta (home to the Cellular Agriculture Institute), Concordia University, McMaster University (Fei Geng Lab), Innotech Alberta, Verschuren Centre, La Cité College, and equipment vendors including Getinge.

CAC's business model is that of a non-profit coalition funded through government grants, philanthropic donations, and member contributions, with no commercial product revenue or pricing model. The organization does not sell products or services; instead, it functions as the national coordinating body for the sector, facilitating funding intermediation, stakeholder connections, and policy engagement. Operational infrastructure is provided through its parent organization New Harvest Canada, headquartered in Toronto, while CAC's stated website presence is in Waterloo. The organization hosts annual ecosystem gatherings (1st Gathering in Ottawa in May 2023, 2nd Gathering at University of Alberta in September 2024, 3rd Gathering in Edmonton in September 2025), maintains regional working groups in Alberta and Ontario, and operates a website (cellag.ca) plus social media and email communications channels.

The most material recent program is the CAPE initiative — a three-year, CAD$2.4 million funding vehicle announced at the 3rd Gathering in September 2025 and backed by Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), Alberta Innovates, Mitacs, and New Harvest's philanthropic donors. CAC sits within a Canadian cellular agriculture sector that has attracted roughly US$91 million in private equity and venture capital funding to date and operates in a global category that drew approximately US$7 billion in investment between 2018 and 2022 across 150+ companies. The organization has 1-10 employees, is privately held with no IPO path implied by its non-profit structure, and has no disclosed management team, AI/ML capabilities, proprietary patents, or commercial products.

Name

CANADIAN CELLULAR AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE

Legal name

Cellular Agriculture Canada

Website

https://cellag.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cellular Agriculture Canada is a non-profit coalition initiative led by New Harvest Canada that convenes industry, government, academia, and non-profits to advance Canada's cellular agriculture ecosystem through policy engagement, funding facilitation, public outreach, and annual stakeholder gatherings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Protein Ecosystem Advocacy

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultivated Meat Producers (Cell-Cultured Meat & Seafood) (AFANAKAC)

Keywords

• Cellular agriculture ecosystem
• Alternative protein coalition
• Biotech policy advocacy
• Cultivated meat industry
• Agritech research network

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterloo

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Coalition Funding and Support: As a non-profit coalition initiative led by New Harvest Canada (a registered charity #71198 5135 RR 0001), CAC operates through funding from government grants, philanthropic donations, and member contributions. The organization facilitates funding attraction into the Canadian cellular agriculture ecosystem rather than generating direct revenue from product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cellular Agriculture Canada is a non-profit coalition initiative led by New Harvest Canada that convenes key players from industry, government, non-profits, and academia to advance Canada's cellular agriculture ecosystem. It operates through annual gatherings, six action areas (blueprint development, policy engagement, enabling collaboration, funding attraction, public engagement, and talent development), and programs such as the CAPE initiative. The organization does not sell commercial products or services but rather functions as a coordination platform facilitating collaboration, funding access, and policy engagement across the Canadian cellular agriculture innovation pipeline.

Product overview

Cellular Agriculture Canada is a coalition organization led by New Harvest Canada, not a product company. It functions as a convening body to advance Canada's cellular agriculture ecosystem through six action areas: developing a blueprint for Canadian leadership, policy engagement, enabling collaboration, attracting public and private funding, public engagement, and purpose-built talent development. The organization hosts annual gatherings (1st in May 2023, 2nd in September 2024, 3rd in September 2025) and runs initiatives like the CAPE program (CAD$2.4 million, three-year initiative). It does not offer commercial products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• New Harvest CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAC is a collaborative initiative led by New Harvest Canada, a non-profit and registered charity (#71198 5135 RR 0001) dedicated to advancing cellular agriculture in Canada through multi-stakeholder collaboration and foundational research. New Harvest is a global non-profit strategically anchored in Canada, Netherlands and the US.
• Transition AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA member organization co-hosting the 1st CAC Gathering in May 2023, focused on sectoral transformations and strategic pathway development for emerging industries like cellular agriculture.
• La Cité CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted the 1st CAC Gathering on their Ottawa campus. Their team showcased their labs hosting and supporting multiple cell ag companies, demonstrating the college's role in cellular agriculture infrastructure and incubation.
• GetingesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerA member organization providing bioprocess and manufacturing equipment expertise relevant to scale-up infrastructure for cellular agriculture production.
• University of AlbertacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of the 2nd CAC Gathering on their campus in Edmonton, September 2024. Home to the Cellular Agriculture Institute, providing research infrastructure and academic leadership.
• Concordia UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization with facilities including the Genome Foundry used for cellular agriculture research, providing infrastructure and research capabilities.
• Innotech AlbertacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization offering state-of-the-art scale-up facilities that help start-ups bridge the 'valley of death' by scaling processes efficiently and cost-effectively. An excellent example of de-risking infrastructure.
• Verschuren CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as an excellent example of shared de-risking infrastructure that helps start-ups scale cellular agriculture processes efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Cell Ag TechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization contributing to the cellular agriculture ecosystem and innovation pipeline in Canada.
• Future FieldssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization operating in the cellular agriculture space, contributing to ecosystem diversity and innovation.
• Opalia FoodssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization developing cellular agriculture products, representing the innovative company segment of the ecosystem.
• Hyasynth BiosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization working on cellular agriculture solutions, contributing to the diversity of the ecosystem.
• Harvest MoonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization in the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• Liven ProteinssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization developing alternative protein products through cellular agriculture.
• Trove BiosciencessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• BioFect InnovationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization contributing to the cellular agriculture innovation ecosystem.
• Genuine TastesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization developing cultivated food products.
• Myo-PalatesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization in the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• The Better ButcherssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization developing cultivated meat products.
• UFV Food and Agriculture InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember academic institution contributing research and expertise to the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• McMaster University (Fei Geng Lab)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember academic institution contributing research capabilities to the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• Arda BiosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization in the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• SynphoneesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization contributing to the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• Harvest InsightssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization providing industry insights and analytics for the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• Vireo AdvisorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization providing advisory services to the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• BIOBOOSTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization in the synthetic biology and cellular agriculture space.
• ZoneAgtechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting agricultural technology and innovation in the cellular agriculture ecosystem.
• PnuVaxsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization contributing to the biotechnology ecosystem.
• Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmii's matchmaking model connecting researchers with industry to address real-world problems could be adapted for cellular agriculture to enhance partnerships and commercialization. Referenced as a model for fostering academia-industry collaboration.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cellular Agriculture Society: The Cellular Agriculture Society is a non-profit advancing cellular agriculture through consumer education, research, and policy work. It plays a similar ecosystem-building role to CAC but focuses more on consumer acceptance and U.S. policy.
• InnoTech Alberta: InnoTech Alberta is a CAC core member providing state-of-the-art scale-up facilities that bridge startups across the 'valley of death.' It functions as a shared de-risking infrastructure partner that operationalizes CAC's mandate to reduce scale-up barriers for member startups.
• Protein Industries Canada: Protein Industries Canada is a Canadian industry-led supercluster accelerating plant-based protein innovation through ecosystem convening, co-investment, and policy work. It is the closest Canadian analog to CAC, sharing a coalition-and-government-funded model focused on alternative proteins.
• New Harvest: New Harvest is the parent non-profit of CAC and the leading global research-focused non-profit advancing cellular agriculture. It directly operates and funds CAC's activities, making it the most structurally and mission-aligned peer.
• The Good Food Institute (GFI): GFI is a global non-profit that advocates for alternative proteins (plant-based, fermentation, cultivated meat) through science, policy, and corporate engagement. It plays a convening role similar to CAC but at a global scale, making it the closest mission-comparable peer.
• Centre for Cellular Agriculture at the University of Alberta: The University of Alberta's Cellular Agriculture Institute is a CAC core member and one of Canada's leading academic hubs for cellular agriculture R&D. It complements CAC's convening role with deep scientific research capability and talent pipeline.
• BioCanRx: BioCanRx is a Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence funding biotherapeutics research through multi-stakeholder coalition-building and translational programs. It mirrors CAC's model of mobilizing Canadian academic, industry, and government actors around an emerging biotech sector.

Regional players

• Alternative Proteins Association (APA): The Alternative Proteins Association (formerly AIPMM) is an Australian industry association representing alternative protein producers including cultivated meat companies. It plays a similar industry-association convening role to CAC but is regionally scoped to Australia/New Zealand.
• Alttech Capital Partners: Alttech Capital Partners focuses on alternative protein and cellular agriculture investment globally with ecosystem-building and policy engagement activities. While U.S.-headquartered, it shares CAC's mission of advancing the cellular agriculture industry through multi-stakeholder coordination.

Broad incumbents

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): FAO is the UN agency convening global stakeholders on food security, sustainable agriculture, and emerging food technologies including cellular agriculture. It operates at vastly greater scale but shares a multi-stakeholder convening mandate over food innovation policy.

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cellular-agriculture-canada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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