Lasso Spins a New Era for Food Processing with $6.5 Million Raise and Launch of Breakthrough SpinTech Platform

Courtesy: Lasso

From plant-based meat to pet food, Lasso’s new SpinTech technology promises to spin protein and fiber into a new generation of nutritious, minimally processed foods.

The long-standing machinery behind ultra-processed foods may finally be facing an overhaul. Boston-based foodtech startup Lasso has officially launched with its proprietary Lasso SpinTech, a pioneering system that uses physics, rather than chemical additives, to bind proteins and fibers into clean-label foods with novel textures and structures. Backed by a fresh $6.5 million funding round led by Rhapsody Venture Partners with participation from Safar Partners, Claridge Venture Partners, and others, the company is now ready to commercialize its technology across multiple high-growth food categories.

Lasso’s mission is clear: to move beyond the outdated industrial equipment that has defined modern food production for over a century. Its technology promises to create foods that are more nutritious, affordable, and sustainable, without relying on high heat, excess sugars, or artificial binders. “Consumers are no longer accepting the status quo in packaged food,” said CEO Mike Messersmith, formerly of Oatly North America. “The industry is desperate for innovation but has been handicapped by antiquated processing machines invented over 100 years ago, and wholly ill-equipped to meet the needs of consumers in 2025. At Lasso, we want to step into that void and create progress.”

The launch also comes at a pivotal moment for the packaged food industry, as global health authorities and consumers alike question the dominance of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). From the World Health Organization’s warnings to the growing body of research linking UPFs to chronic disease, pressure is mounting on food producers to rethink both formulation and processing. Lasso’s approach, using physics instead of chemistry, positions it at the forefront of a new wave of minimally processed innovation, merging scientific ingenuity with clean-label simplicity.

At the heart of this transformation is Lasso SpinTech, a patented food-processing system originally developed at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute by a team of bioengineering experts: Kit Parker, Luke MacQueen, Christophe Chantre, and Grant Gonzalez. The team spent seven years refining a technology they once described as “an advanced cotton candy machine”, one that uses centrifugal force to weave together protein and fiber molecules into new, fiber-based food matrices. The result: foods that maintain a natural feel and mouthfeel, yet can be made from almost any combination of simple ingredients.

The technology’s first major application came with Tender Food, a Harvard spinout launched in 2020 to create plant-based meats with realistic texture and flavor. Tender Food will remain a core brand under the new Lasso umbrella, soon to be joined by a lineup of new food and pet products designed using SpinTech. According to Messersmith, Lasso has already demonstrated commercial-scale production of hundreds of thousands of pounds of product annually using equipment “about the size of a washing machine” and consuming “less energy than a toaster oven.”

Courtesy: Lasso

Beyond health and functionality, SpinTech’s efficiency also offers environmental advantages. By requiring less energy and water, reducing waste, and using flexible ingredient inputs, from plants to upcycled food byproducts, the system aligns with the food industry’s broader push toward decarbonization and circular production. With more than 1,000 possible ingredient combinations and fine control over fiber composition, density, and moisture, Lasso’s platform can be adapted to everything from protein-packed snacks and clean-label bakery items to premium pet food and hybrid proteins.

The timing may prove fortuitous. Consumer sentiment toward ultra-processed foods is shifting rapidly, fueled by concerns over health, transparency, and the rise of GLP-1 medications that are influencing dietary behavior, signaling that taste and convenience are no longer enough; products must now earn their place on the plate through nutritional integrity and cleaner processing.

Lasso is already in discussions with major food manufacturers to license SpinTech for diverse applications, from ready-to-eat meals to functional nutrition. The company expects the first partner-launched products to hit shelves in 2026, signaling the beginning of what Messersmith calls “a new era of physics-powered food.”

For Messersmith, this new chapter marks both a scientific and cultural inflection point. “We are on the cusp of introducing truly innovative new foods made of simple ingredients that everyone understands, both through brands we create and through partnerships that bring these products to market globally,” he said. “There’s nothing on the market that can match what Lasso can achieve with this technology.”

If successful, Lasso’s SpinTech platform could redefine how the food industry approaches formulation and manufacturing, spinning the fibers of the future not in metaphor, but in motion.