Yaakov Nahmias, founder and chief scientist of Future Meat Technologies, holds laboratory-grown fat samples in his lab in Jerusalem on May 2, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad.

CTech – Jerusalem-based lab-produced meat startup Future Meat Technologies has raised a $14 million series A funding round, the company announced Thursday, bringing its total funding to date to $16.2 million. The round was led by Chicago-based venture capital firm S2G Ventures and Switzerland-based Emerald Technology Ventures. Tyson Ventures, the venture arm of Tyson Foods, Henry Soesanto, the CEO of meat alternative company Monde Nissin, Manta Ray Ventures, and Shanghai-based venture capital firm Bits x Bites also participated in the round.

Founded in 2018, Future Meat develops technology for the GMO-free production of meat directly from animal cells, without the need to raise or slaughter animals. The company focuses on developing cost-efficient production of fat and muscle cells in small-scale rejuvenating bioreactors.

The company intends to use the funding to expand research and development efforts and build its cultured meat pilot production facility in the south of Tel Aviv, estimated to begin operations in 2020.