NEW TECH FOODS

Atlantic Fish Co (AFC) has raised $1.2 million in seed funding to accelerate the development and regulatory progress of its cultivated seafood products.

The round included participation from Katapult Ocean, Alwyn Capital, DMV Capital, the Georgetown Angel Investment Network (GAIN) and other investors, alongside a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

The new funding brings the company’s total raised capital to $2.3 million and will be used to advance product optimisation, regulatory submission and chef collaborations.

AFC said the investment will support refinement of its cultivated whitefish fillets’ texture, flavour and nutritional profile, as well as preparation for FDA pre-market consultation and initial foodservice distribution.

Founded to address overfishing and supply constraints in the $400 billion seafood market, AFC’s platform technology enables the cultivation of lean muscle tissue from multiple species. The company has demonstrated proof of concept across both seafood and terrestrial proteins, with an initial focus on black sea bass.

Doug Grant, CEO of AFC, said: "The cultivated meat sector has learned expensive lessons, and there are still only a handful of products on the market. We've stayed capital-efficient with disciplined milestones and focused on seafood, the category best positioned to break through. This $1.2 million enables us to finalise our go-to-market product and secure the regulatory greenlights to launch in the US.”

Sam Selig, investment manager of Katapult Ocean, added: "Doug, Trevor and the Atlantic Fish team have demonstrated outstanding execution in the nearly two years since our first conversation, consistently hitting technical milestones and advancing their platform toward what we believe is breakthrough technology in cultivated protein".

"Supporting the initial commercialisation of their sustainable white fish filet – and their broader vision to expand across proteins – aligns perfectly with our mission to back ocean- and health-friendly blue foods with meaningful market opportunity and impact."