Impossible Foods raises $300m in Series E funding round

US-based Impossible Foods has raised $300m in the Series E funding round led by its existing investors Temasek and Horizons Ventures in an effort to accelerate its rapid scaleup.

The funding round is the fifth since the company was launched in 2011 and will be used to expand the company’s capacity, as well as add new members to its plant in Oakland, California.

Until now, the company has raised more than $750m in funding.

Individual investors who were part of the Series E round include Jay Brown, Kirk Cousins, Paul George, JAY-Z, Trevor Noah, Alexis Ohanian, Kal Penn, Katy Perry, Questlove, Ruby Rose, Phil Rosenthal, Jaden Smith, Serena Williams, will.i.am and Zedd.

Impossible Foods chief financial officer David Lee said: “We have cracked the molecular code for meat and built an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio and brand.

“Our global financial partners are supporting a technology powerhouse that will transform the global food system.”

The company was founded by Stanford biochemistry professor and former paediatrician Dr Patrick O Brown in 2011 and produces plant-based meat.

In 2016, the company launched its plant-based Impossible Burger at certain restaurants in the US. In January, it introduced the upgraded product Impossible Burger 2.0.

This March, Impossible Foods launched its plant-based burger in Singapore, which is currently available at restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau.

Additionally, the Impossible Burger is planned to be rolled out in retail outlets later this year.

In October 2015, Impossible Foods raised $108m in a Series D round of funding.