FoodTech Firm NotCo Expands AI Offering After $70M Series D1

Plant-based food company NotCo will expand its B2B offerings after raising $70 million.

The capital will let other consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers use NotCo’s artificial intelligence tool Giuseppe “for their own innovation purposes and exponentially accelerate the transformation of the plant-based industry,” the company said in a Monday (Dec. 12) news release.

“The food industry desperately needs to adopt technology to dramatically accelerate the product development process, reduce cost and address the challenges posed by climate change,” said Joaquin Rodriguez Torres, whose Princeville Capital led the Series D1 funding round.

The company said in the release its AI can deliver a “superior eating experience,” while also providing more accuracy and speed, reducing research and development timelines from years to months.

Originally launched in Chile, NotCo sells products that include “NotMilk,” “NotBurger” and “NotChicken” throughout the United States and Latin America. The company raised $235 million in a Series D round last year, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion.

PYMNTS looked at trends in the FoodTech industry in a conversation with Martin Davalos, a partner at McWin, a Czech investment firm that focuses on that sector.

One of the trends that has the potential to transform the industry is alternative protein, something consumers have begun to demand due to the meat industry’s environmental impact. A 2021 Bloomberg Intelligence report projected that the alternative meat market will grow from $4.2 billion to $74 billion over the next decade.

Plant-based proteins have exploded onto the global food scene and with them the range of options for consumers. These days, shoppers have choices well beyond the soy- and mycoprotein-based meat substitutes that historically dominated the food market.

One of the emerging innovations to gain traction is cultured meat, which uses lab-grown animal cells to recreate a meat-like tissue structure. It lets consumers enjoy a meatier texture with their meals without any animals coming to harm.

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