NEW YORK — Seventeen early-stage startups were selected for pre-seed investment as part of Big Idea Venture’s bi-annual New Protein Accelerator program. Investments were made through the firm’s three offices in New York, Paris and Singapore and its $50 million New Protein Fund.

“The 17 companies in our latest cohort are all working to solve key challenges in the alternative protein industry today,” said Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing partner of Big Idea Ventures. “From new extraction and fermentation methods to AI-enabled micro fluids, connected bioreactors and cell-based fats, these companies offer compelling solutions to scale production, cut costs and improve both the nutrition and taste profiles of alternative protein products.”

Three North American companies and two European companies are working with the firm’s New York team. They include:

Thrilling Foods, a US-based manufacturer of Bakon, a patented bacon alternative made from soy milk that is salt cured and hardwood smoked.

NouBio, a US-based biotechnology company developing sustainable, cost effective and animal-free products for scalable cell culture in cultivated meat, cell therapy and vaccine production businesses.

Genuine Taste, a Canadian cell-based agriculture startup producing cultivated fat.

Extracellular, a UK-based company channeling biology, digitalization and biomanufacturing to accelerate cultivated meat development.

Cultimate Foods, a German cellular agriculture company creating alternative fat ingredients for plant-based meat products.

Startups participating in Big Idea Ventures’ Paris accelerator primarily are focused on alternative seafood. They include:

Esencia, a German company using solid state fermentation to create fish and seafood alternatives made with mushroom mycelia.

Loki Foods, and Iceland-based startup producing plant-based seafood products using 100% renewable energy.

Food Squared, a UK-based company formulating whole cut fish alternatives using 3D printing technology.

Niskus Biotec, an Irish startup offering mushroom mycelia-based flour that is high in protein.

The Good Pulse Co., a UK-based company developing functional proteins from pulses for use in plant-based foods and supplements.

Shoken, a UK-based vegan meat manufacturer focusing on deli slices and pizza toppings like pepperoni.

The six startups in the firm’s Singapore accelerator cohort are identifying solutions for both upstream and downstream processes of fermentation and cellular agriculture. They include:

ImpacFat, a Singapore-based company with a focus on fish cell-based fat.

Smart MCs, an Australian startup aiming to make texturized cultivated meat a commercially viable food source by providing cell type-specific microcarriers.

Dynacyte, a Singapore-based creator of modular bioreactors that incorporate artificial intelligence and microelectronics.

Mycosortia, a Singapore-based startup turning food side streams into edible alternative protein products using microbial consortia fermentation.

Sono Biosciences, a Singapore-based company developing fish cell culture media that are free of animal derived growth factors.

Algrow Biosciences, a Singapore-based company creating dairy alternatives from microalgae.