Driving a VC is about seeing the signal through the noise. In FoodTech, that noise is overwhelming: hype bubbles, highly complex technologies, sustainability buzzwords, and solutions chasing problems. The signal is harder to find – teams building scalable technologies that solve real-world problems, with business models that actually work.
In the second quarter, amid an undeniably challenging environment, three portfolio companies doing exactly that crossed key milestones: Tastewise with a $50 million funding round to scale their GenAI solution; Vow closed another round of multi-million-dollar funding alongside regulatory approval in Australia and New Zealand; and Rival Foods raised €10 million to scale their whole-cut, plant-based meat.
The funding reflects sustained investor confidence in FoodTech innovation – when driven by strong fundamentals and clear market traction. On that front, these companies have some crucial points in common. All three have an approach markedly different from their competitors, with unique positioning and market traction. All have IP-backed, scalable technologies built to transform a sector. And all three founders are true leaders, with a deep-seated ability to inspire, fundraise, navigate complexity, and adapt.
Vow: Blazing the Path for a New Category of Food
The News: Vow’s fresh round of funding comes alongside approval to officially sell their cultured meat in Australia and New Zealand – the product of years of collaboration with the countries’ regulatory agency to bring an entirely new food category to market. Real meat, with no genetic modification or synthetic additives. The team has also completed the world’s largest harvest of cultured meat in history, surpassing over a ton of cultured Japanese quail in a single harvest. Dozens of Australian restaurants will soon offer Vow’s product, joining Singapore, where their Forged cultured Japanese quail is already on the menu. Today, they’re undoubtedly the sector leader, with sales on two continents and manufacturing that supports this traction.
The Backstory: While the wider cell-based meat industry faces market and funding challenges, Vow has set itself apart by targeting meat lovers: a product designed for deliciousness in taste and texture, instead of an alternative protein. Their team has expertly navigated regulatory complexities, brand-building, and efficiently scaling operations. The choice of a high-end market is also strategic: cultivated meat can come with high R&D costs and capital-heavy infrastructure, in addition to the regulatory hurdles. Leveraging premium markets first helps create a technological springboard and paves the way for mass market expansion. As PeakBridge CTO and Vow board member Dr. Gali Artzi puts it, “This team is building a new category from the ground up, with the discipline of deep tech and the creativity of fine dining. That’s what it takes to lead in the space.”
Tastewise: Ushering a [Massive] Traditional Industry into the Future
The News: With a $50 million Series B, Tastewise is poised to ramp up what they’ve already established: a completely new way of operating for the $10 trillion food and beverage industry. It’s already used by food giants like Mars, Kraft Heinz, and Kroger to transform old-school food innovation cycles from years to weeks.
The Backstory: By now it’s tough to get through any conversation without mention of generative AI. But back when we first met with Tastewise Founder and CEO Alon Chen, it was hardly on the map. That kind of understanding of the industry’s biggest pain points – and foresight into where it’s heading – is proving transformative. Until recently the industry spent exorbitant time and resources bringing products to market, all based on limited and expensive data that’s disconnected from consumers and often outdated by the time an item hits the shelves. Tastewise is rewriting that process with GenAI, transforming trend data into product innovation, sales materials, and campaigns, a shift that’s increasingly a competitive necessity.
Rival Foods: Hitting Key Plant-Based Marks to Scale
The News: Rival Foods’ €10 million Series B will help further scale their whole-cut, plant-based meat, with production capacity set to double by early next year. At the core: proprietary shear cell technology allowing for whole-cuts that closely mimic the texture, flavor and mouthfeel of animal-derived meat cuts. Amid a global consumer health push, they’re also doing it with a focus on nutrition – high protein, low sodium and saturated fat, and minimal ingredients. The round will support scaling that allows Rival Foods to close in on competitive prices with animal meat, a non-negotiable for long-term success.
The Backstory: The plant-based sector has been through its fair share of tremors: hype bubbles, inflated valuations, and (justified) critiques over taste, nutrition and price. As PeakBridge Partner & COO Martina Pace puts it, “Real success in the alternative protein space demands tough things to master: great taste and texture, real nutrition, and competitive prices. Rival Foods hits each of those. They’ve clearly differentiated within the alt-protein category, particularly in underserved high value, whole-cut formats.” The path there included materially de-risking their technology through commercial-scale production and early market validation. And while the U.S. plant-based sector faces headwinds, Rival Foods operates in European markets where demand continues to grow. Altogether, those moves have positioned Rival Foods to move beyond early adopters, towards more mainstream consumer segments.
Building Backwards
As a fund, our investment process starts with identifying specific, real-world problems in the food value chain, and then working backward to pinpoint the technologies and leaders prepared to play the long game. Each of these (fundamentally different) companies represents this approach. Writing the check is where it starts; from there it’s tailored support to help navigate the series of challenges any ambitious FoodTech startup will encounter, from scaling and commercial strategy to matchmaking with partners who can move the needle. “The best founders don’t just want capital,” says Founding General Partner Nadav Berger. “They want sparring partners who know the space and aren’t afraid to ask hard questions. That’s our role. To be a force multiplier and help turn smart technologies into systems-changing companies.”
Through a wider lens, we’re guided by…well, reality: the global food system is riddled with fundamental problems, now further cracking under pressures from extreme weather to trade wars. The technologies that will ultimately solve that aren’t nice-to-have, they’re must-have. Of course that work never stops, and there’s still a long journey ahead. But Vow, Tastewise, and Rival Foods’ recent milestones are indeed very positive signals for the sector.