Food tech investor Big Idea Ventures has announced a first close for its New Protein Fund II (NPF II), which aims to raise $75 million within the next 12 months to support new alt-protein and ingredients start-ups. 

The round also included participation from AAK and Bühler, which were both previous investors in Big Idea Ventures' New Protein Fund I (NPF I) in 2020.

Big Idea Ventures is said to be broadening its investment portfolio by including companies that specialise in alternative ingredients. In addition to continuing its current investment strategy, the company aims to invest in plant-based, cell-based and fermentation-enabled alternative protein companies worldwide.

NPF II is set to invest in early-stage start-ups around the world both through its accelerator programme and direct investments. Big Idea Ventures' accelerator programme is an intensive five-month project conducted across the company's Paris, Singapore and New York offices. It assists companies in overcoming obstacles to effectively scaling a start-up by providing assistance from internal and external experts, corporate investors and a broad network of mentors.

Big Idea Ventures founder Andrew D. Ive said: “With NPF I, we found and worked with companies we believe will become leaders in the alternative protein category. NPF II enables us to bring even more innovators with fantastic innovations and teams in our portfolio. Our mission is to solve the world’s biggest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers.”

D. Ive added: "From tantalising plant-based meat to sustainable cultivated oysters, as well as innovative seaweed and mycelium-based products, our team has been privileged to witness the growth and development of these exceptional product lines. Currently, we are focused on enabling technologies for the industry. We foresee that through NPF II, we will be able to accelerate the industry further with investments in technologies such as molecular farming, precision fermentation, AI-enabled softwares and hardwares, and more.”

The new raise brings Big Idea Ventures' total assets under management to over $100 million. 

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