Agronomics Deepens Bet on SuperMeat as Cultivated Chicken Edges Toward European Debut

Courtesy: SuperMeat

Agronomics has once again doubled down on one of the most closely watched players in cultivated meat. The London-listed cellular agriculture investor has committed $2 million to SuperMeat as part of a $3.5 million raise, reinforcing its long-term view that the Israeli startup is edging closer to commercial readiness. The new capital, issued through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), will support SuperMeat’s push to bring its 100% cultivated chicken to market in Europe, positioning it as one of the earliest premium cultivated poultry products that could reach diners at scale.

The investment marks Agronomics’ largest follow-on backing of SuperMeat since its initial 2020 commitment. The firm will provide $750,000 in cash, while the remaining $1.25 million will be issued in new Agronomics shares at a price aligned with the company’s latest net asset value. Once admitted to AIM, Agronomics’ total issued share capital will exceed one billion ordinary shares.

For Agronomics executive chair Jim Mellon, increasing exposure to SuperMeat fits squarely within the firm’s thesis: rising global demand for protein cannot be met sustainably with conventional animal agriculture alone. In his words, SuperMeat’s technology signals “a cleaner, more resilient, and technologically advanced future for food,” reflecting the investor’s belief that the company’s latest breakthroughs move cultivated chicken into the realm of commercial feasibility rather than long-term aspiration.

SuperMeat, founded nearly a decade ago, has long argued that cultivated meat must outperform across sustainability, quality, and cost to succeed. Over the past 18 months, the company has delivered progress on each front. A life-cycle assessment conducted by CE Delft estimated that its cultivated chicken could reduce emissions by roughly half compared with conventional poultry. Later in 2024, SuperMeat announced it had achieved production of 100% cultivated chicken, comprising 85% muscle and 15% fat, at $11.79 per pound when produced at scale. That figure, calculated at a 25,000-liter system, puts it in line with premium pasture-raised chicken in the US and marks one of the clearest signals to date that fully cultivated meat can compete on price with high-end conventional products.

Courtesy: SuperMeat

A Turning Point for Cultivated Meat Economics

Behind these numbers is a production system that departs sharply from traditional batch bioprocessing. SuperMeat’s platform relies on a continuous production flow and a self-renewing cell line capable of reaching densities of 80 million cells per milliliter in just nine days. The company has eliminated the need for serum-based media, replacing expensive animal-derived inputs with more affordable alternatives, which has driven media costs down to under 50 cents per liter. Its system can harvest the equivalent yield of a full-grown chicken in two days, versus the six weeks required to raise and process a bird. At the pilot scale, SuperMeat already produces several hundred pounds of cultivated chicken each week. When deployed in an industrial facility, output is projected to reach 6.7 million pounds annually while reducing land use by more than 80%.

Although the US has often been positioned as the company’s top priority, SuperMeat’s recent milestones suggest that Europe is emerging as the center of its commercial strategy. The startup is a founding member of Cellular Agriculture Europe and has inked partnerships with PHW Group in Germany and Migros in Switzerland. It is also working with biotech firm Stämm to bring its cultivated chicken to market by 2026. These collaborations aim to bridge regulatory pathways, scale manufacturing, and build the distribution networks required for a first-of-its-kind launch.

Ido Savir, SuperMeat’s co-founder and CEO, said the latest backing comes at a defining moment. “Over the past year we have made substantial advancements across our production platform, for the first time making cultivated chicken production commercially viable,” he noted. “Now we’re focused on translating these achievements into commercial launch with partners who understand how significant this category can become as demand and expectations evolve.”

With this round, SuperMeat has raised $18.5 million to date. Agronomics’ total exposure now exceeds £11 million, representing a meaningful share of its cellular agriculture portfolio. For investors following the sector, SuperMeat’s progress signals a shift: cultivated meat is moving from possibility to practicality. With defined cost structures, measurable climate benefits, and expanding industrial capacity, the company is positioning itself as one of the first to bring a fully cultivated poultry product to market in Europe, an inflection point that could shape the future of protein for years to come.