Lab-Grown Meat Startup: Elk, Lamb & Wagyu - Y Combinator

A Novel Approach to Cultivated Meat: Orbillion Bio's Strategy

Recently, a gathering of twenty employees and guests convened at a venue overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The occasion featured a unique dining experience: a meal comprised of elk sausages, Wagyu meatloaf, and lamb burgers – all cultivated within a laboratory setting.

This event served as the official launch for Orbillion Bio, a new company currently participating in Y Combinator’s latest demo day. Their aim is to introduce lab-grown meats not to mainstream supermarkets, but to specialized, high-end butcher shops.

Focusing on Heritage Meats

Rather than competing directly with producers of common meats like pork, chicken, and beef, Orbillion Bio is concentrating on what are termed “heritage” meats. Initially, this includes elk, lamb, and Wagyu beef.

By targeting the more premium end of the market, the company believes it will face less immediate pressure to drastically reduce production costs compared to other businesses in the cellular agriculture sector.

However, the innovation extends beyond simply offering upscale meat products.

According to Holly Jacobus of Joyance Partners, an early investor, “Orbillion employs a distinctive, accelerated development process, generating thousands of miniature tissue samples and continually refining them to identify optimal tissue and media combinations.” This method is demonstrably more cost-effective and efficient than conventional techniques, allowing for a swift response to the growing demand they are already witnessing.

Technology and Scalability

The company utilizes a network of small bioreactors to cultivate multiple cell lines. This is coupled with a high-throughput screening system and machine learning software, creating a database of optimized tissue and media formulations.

“Achieving scalable lab-grown meat production hinges on selecting the appropriate cells and cultivating them in the most efficient manner possible,” Jacobus explained.

The Leadership Team

Orbillion Bio is led by a highly skilled and technically proficient executive team. Patricia Bubner, formerly a researcher at Boehringer Ingelheim, serves as the company’s CEO.

Gabriel Levesque-Tremblay, a former director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley alongside Bubner, functions as the Chief Technology Officer.

Samet Yildirim, the Chief Operating Officer, completes the senior leadership, bringing extensive experience from Boehringer Ingelheim, where he previously supervised Bubner.

A Passion for Flavor and Quality

Bubner’s decision to focus on heritage meats is rooted in both her professional background and personal experiences growing up in rural Austria.

A dedicated foodie and scientist, Bubner pursued chemistry with the intention of applying scientific principles to the food industry. Her goal for Orbillion Bio is to produce not just meat, but exceptionally flavorful meats.

This strategy aligns with the approach taken by many companies commercializing new technologies: prioritizing higher-end products or those with unique flavor profiles that leverage the advantages of the production process, rather than directly competing with commodity products.

Bubner’s ambition extends beyond simply replicating existing meats; she aims to create superior alternatives.

“I am captivated by the potential to revolutionize food production for greater efficiency,” she stated. “We are at a pivotal moment. As a scientist and a food enthusiast, I wanted to contribute to a meaningful change in how we eat. I firmly believe that a significant portion of our food supply will eventually come from alternative proteins – plant-based sources, fermentation, and lab-grown meat.”

Building on Bioprocessing Expertise

Bubner’s tenure at Boehringer Ingelheim provided her with a solid foundation in large-scale bioprocessing, preparing her for her venture into lab-grown meat.

“We are a product-focused company. Our objective is to create the most flavorful steaks possible. Our initial offering will not be whole cuts, but rather a Wagyu beef product, planned for release in 2023.

This initial product will resemble a minced product, akin to Wagyu sashimi,” Bubner clarified.

Supply Chain Considerations

Bringing their product to market requires not only advancements in meat cultivation but also innovations in related areas, such as tissue scaffolding for larger cuts and the development of fats to enhance flavor.

This presents opportunities for collaboration with companies like Future Fields, Matrix Meats, and Turtle Tree Scientific, which can supply these essential inputs.

A Collaborative Approach with Farmers

Bubner also emphasizes the importance of a strong supply chain and recognizes the vital role of farmers and breeders.

“My family included farmers, construction workers, civil engineers, and architects. I deeply respect farmers and believe they deserve greater recognition for their contributions to food production.”

She envisions a collaborative model, potentially involving licensing agreements, where the owners of the animals providing the cell lines can benefit from the commercial success of their genetic material.

Sustainability and Environmental Impact

This approach also contributes to reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional agribusiness and livestock farming.

By requiring only a small number of animals to produce meat, the environmental footprint of farming operations can be significantly lessened.

“It’s crucial that we avoid repeating past mistakes of breeding animals solely for yield, neglecting flavor,” Bubner added.

Early Partnerships and Future Growth

Despite being in its early stages, Orbillion Bio has already secured a letter of intent from Guy Crims, known as “Guy the Butcher,” a prominent San Francisco butcher, to stock their lab-grown Wagyu beef.

With its initial technology validated, Orbillion Bio is now focused on scaling its operations. The company estimates needing $3.5 million to establish a pilot plant by the end of 2022, in addition to the $1.4 million seed funding already raised from Joyance Partners and VentureSouq.

“My vision for an integrated model involves farmers becoming breeders of animals specifically for cultivated meat. This could reduce the global cattle population to a few hundred thousand,” Bubner stated. “The concern that lab-grown meat will eliminate animal agriculture is unfounded; we won’t abolish it overnight.”