Spanish biomass fermentation start-up Moa Foodtech has successfully secured a total of €14.8 million in funding, comprising a €2.3 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) accelerator programme and a commitment of €12.5 million (about $13 million) in equity funding from the EIC Fund.

This funding aims to enhance Moa's capabilities in transforming food byproducts into high-value ingredients through advanced biomanufacturing techniques. The equity funding from the EIC Fund is contingent upon Moa securing matching investments from private investors.

The financial backing will facilitate the scaling of Moa's operations to 100,000 liters, with plans to launch its first product commercially in the second quarter of 2025.

Founded in late 2020 by CEO and co-founder Bosco Emparanza, Dr Susana Sánchez, and José María Elorza, Moa Foodtech is focused on developing self-GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) yeast strains that utilise various food side streams – ranging from distillers’ grains to crop residues.

This approach aims to create sustainable and functional ingredients for a wide array of food and beverage applications, including plant-based foods, bakery products, snacks, creams, soups and even pet food.

The company aims to build a B2B sustainable ingredient platform combining biotechnology and AI to transform waste and byproducts from the agrifood industry into high-value ingredients. Moa currently boasts a library of over 300 microbes, primarily focusing on yeast, which is recognised as non-novel for regulatory purposes in the US market.

Moa’s strategy involves using food and agricultural byproducts as feedstocks, rather than traditional sources like dextrose.

The company is developing a comprehensive database of over 150 byproducts to optimise carbon and nitrogen balance for fermentation processes. There are numerous complexities involved in using such byproducts, which can vary significantly across different systems. To address this, Moa has implemented an AI-driven platform, Albatross, that adjusts culture media in real-time to maximise conversion rates.

At a recent biomass fermentation growth hack event in San Francisco, the company highlighted the dual focus of Moa's innovation: achieving cost efficiency in culture media and enhancing the functionalities of the final biomass. The Albatross AI tool enables rapid development cycles, reducing the time required for experimental design and optimisation from six months to less than two weeks.

Moa's first product features yeast with an impressive nutritional profile, containing approximately 50% protein and 35% fiber. A second ingredient, derived from the same biomass but enhanced through improved downstream processing, exhibits strong gelling and emulsifying properties.

These advancements do not require precision fermentation or genetically modified organisms, aligning with growing demand for clean label ingredients in the food industry.