New Wave Biotech and growth media company Multus are partnering to scale the production of cell-based meat more quickly and effectively using the latest in AI technology.

Through the collaboration, the companies hope to “significantly” reduce the cost of cell-based meat, helping replace intensive animal farming and supporting the transition to a sustainable global food system.

Multus specialises in developing next-generation growth media using AI, lab automation and novel ingredients. As Multus expands production, they are partnering with New Wave Biotech to harness the speed and accuracy of AI bioprocess optimisation software to scale and improve the economics of using precision fermentation to produce some of the key ingredients for cell cultivation.

New Wave Biotech’s software will help Multus eliminate unviable processes from the start, accelerate R&D, lower development costs and ultimately help improve their unit economics.

According to management consulting firm BCG, 90% of technologies in the synthetic biology industry fail to scale viably due to R&D often being too expensive and slow – typically taking 3-10 years to get from lab to market, with experiments costing $10,000-$100,000 each.

New Wave Biotech’s software enables synbio innovators to virtually experiment on thousands of processes for cost, quality and sustainability, learn from real-life data and recommend improvements. This creates a step-change in how synbio R&D is done, taking it from a slow, iterative process to a rapid one led by data and insights.

Zoe Law, CEO and co-founder at New Wave Biotech, said: “We and Multus are committed to creating a step-change in how R&D is done in the cultivated meat industry. This market is expected to reach $25 billion by 2030 and completely transform the sustainability of our food systems, but too often these game-changing innovations fail to scale and actually reach the shelves. Working with Multus, we can leverage the power of AI and synthetic biology to unlock these barriers and transform our food systems.”

Cai Linton, CEO and co-founder at Multus, commented: “We are excited to be working with New Wave Biotech to accelerate solutions to the challenges of scale and cost in our supply chain. Combining AI and real-world data collection to produce cheaper and more scalable growth media ingredients helps us put our customers one step closer to making widely available and affordable cultivated meat a reality.”

The project is being funded through an Innovate UK Engineering Biology grant. Innovate UK, part of the UK Government’s Research and Innovation organisation.

Both New Wave Biotech and Multus are supported by alt-protein global investor Big Idea Ventures.

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