Israeli 3D-printed vegan meat startup SavorEat recently held an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) with a pre-money valuation of NIS 170 million ($50 million). The company, founded in 2018 by Racheli Vizman, Oded Shoseyov, and Ido Braslevsky, raised NIC 42.6 million ($13 million) from Israeli institutional investors in the share sale. SavorEat is the first company focused on plant-based meat to trade on the TASE. The IPO comes on the heels of $5.5 million in venture funding the company raised earlier this year. 

Meat made in minutes

SavorEat’s product combines 3D-printing technology—developed at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by Shoseyov and Braslevsky—and a unique, plant-based nano-cellulose fiber that binds the vegan ingredients together, creating a meat-like texture. To make the vegan meat, cartridges are inserted into the 3D printer with the ingredients (fat, cellulose, water, flavoring, and coloring). Customers use an app to order their food from the 3D printer, specifying the amount of protein and fat they want. The machine receives the order, and, at the press of a button, the components of the vegan meat are mixed together within six minutes. The meat can then be cooked, grilled, or baked producing the same sizzle and smell as meat. The company has filed patent applications for the 3D-food production method in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

SavorEat plans to sell both the machine and the ingredients to restaurants, allowing them to manufacture burgers and eventually other products in-house. The new funding will be used to boost development activities, additional pilot testing, and support commercialization. SavorEat is also currently looking for global partnerships with a focus on the US market.