Multus Bio Revolutionizes Cultivated Meat with AI, Aiming for Cost-Effective, Sustainable Future

London-based startup Multus Biotechnology is working on finding more efficient ways to produce growth factors, proteins that encourage cells to grow and differentiate, for cultivated meat. The company is using AI and automation to optimize media formulations for cell culture, addressing the challenge of cost, ingredient quality, scalability, and bioprocess productivity. Multus Bio is combining data science with high-throughput experimentation to figure out the right formulations to use. By using Bayesian optimization, the company can explore different media formulations for cells without having to run millions of experiments. Multus Bio is also developing its own growth factors with greater potency and a longer half-life using generative AI models. The company is working on replicating the functionality of albumin from plant-based sources and using side streams from plant processing to bring down the cost of amino acids. Multus Bio has partnered with fellow British startup Extracellular to launch a license-free cultivated meat cell bank. The company is working with a wide variety of cells and is in conversations with companies working with fish cells and porcine cells. Multus Bio is focused on optimizing media formulations for cost, sustainability, bioprocess productivity, and scalability. The company aims to make experimental progress more quickly and solve complex objectives such as making it cheaper while improving growth rates and transitioning to food-grade ingredients. Multus Bio’s pilot plant in London is expected to begin operations in Q4 2023. The company raised $9.5 million in a series A funding round led by Mandi Ventures in January.