The asset management company KBW Ventures, founded by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud has joined other existing investors in a Singapore-based biotech company aiming to produce lab-grown dairy products.
The biotech company, TurtleTree Labs has raised $6.2 million as part of its Pre-A funding round. Besides KBW, other investors participating in the oversubscribed funding round include Green Monday Ventures, Eat Beyond Global and Verso Capital.
The biotech company TurtleTree, founded in 2019, has offices in San Francisco and Singapore is pioneering the method to produce milk using cell-based technology.
The company will use the funds to enhance its research and production of functional, bioactive proteins and complex sugars found in human milk. These components have potential benefits in gut and brain health, which can be applied to both infant and senior nutrition and offer a viable alternative to animal-based dairy products.
“The vision of TurtleTree Labs is to create a truly sustainable and cruelty-free food system. We are grateful to have the support of leading investors from every corner of the world,” adds Max Rye, Chief Strategist of TurtleTree Labs.
The current investment in TurtleTree Labs is the second this year by KBW Ventures, earlier in June it funded the biotech firm in its $3.2 million seed round.
In light of the latest investment, TurtleTree has announced HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud as a prominent global investor in the alternative protein sector through KBW Ventures and will become part of the biotech firm as an official advisor.
In his role as advisor, Prince Khaled will work in building new market growth plans, lend his expertise in the alternative protein and food tech spheres and collaborate with the founding team on other areas of the business.
“TurtleTree Labs’ groundbreaking technology, which allowed our company to win The Liveability Challenge and Entrepreneurship World Cup, has certainly attracted interest from a global and diverse panel of investors and customers,” said Fengru Lin, CEO of TurtleTree Labs.
KBW Ventures has always supported transformative technologies and business models and its investments in this vertical include the Colorado animal-based pet food firm Bond Pet Foods, California’s Beyond Meat, and San Diego-based aquaculture company BlueNalu.
