Agronomics Regulatory News (ANIC)

20th October 2021

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Agronomics Leads US$ 4 Million Seed Funding Round for California Cultured

Agronomics, the leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce it has led a Seed Funding Round for with a US$ 2.2 million investment (the "Subscription") for California Cultured Inc. ("California Cultured"). The financing is in the form of a SAFER ("Simple Agreement for Future Equity"). Joining the round includes global venture firm SOSV's IndieBio.

The SAFER is expected to convert into Preferred Stock of California Cultured at a future equity financing round by California Cultured of at least US$ 4 million. Following an approximate equity ownership of 18.33 per cent on a fully diluted basis. Following the close of the round, Agronomics will have the right to a directorship in California Cultured. Should California Cultured not complete a qualifying financing within 12 months the SAFER will automatically convert into equity.

California Cultured is a food-tech company based in Davis, California, U.S., which harnesses cell culture technology to produce cocoa products. The application of cellular agriculture for the production of plants or plant-derived ingredients has to date not been extensively commercialised. Using cocoa cell cultures to produce valuable cocoa products, such as cocoa powder, chocolate, cocoa butter and flavanols is considered an exciting opportunity.

Founded by cell-culture technology veterans Alan Perlstein and Harrison Yoon, California Cultured was born out of the tension between the huge market demand for chocolate and the need for more ethical and environmentally friendly methods of production. Approximately 70% of the world's cocoa supply currently comes from Western Africa (NJAS) - specifically Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, where according to World Cocoa Foundation, there are concerns over deforestation. The leadership team is rounded out by Head of Commercial Steve Stearns, former chef at Noma, one of the world's number one restaurants, and COO Debbie Neumann.

Jim Mellon, Non-executive Director of Agronomics commented:-

"Agronomics are pleased to join California Cultured on their path to commercialise synthetic cocoa products without impeding on the natural environment. Their technology should support stabilising production of cocoa in the future, and has the potential to enable future chocolate demand to be met."

Alan Perlstein, CEO and co-founder of California Cultured, added:-

 "Agronomics' network of resources within biotech along with our mutual interest of radically transforming food and agriculture made them an easy choice as an investor and strategic partner. With Agronomics and our other investors behind us, we are well on our way to changing the way we eat chocolate."

Po Bronson, Managing Director of SOSV's IndieBio, added:-

"California Cultured's chocolate tastes absolutely amazing. The cacao cells are grown in the lab very economically, and then they're made into chocolate in traditional methods. Startups are attacking chocolate's dark secrets a number of ways, from upcycling ag wastes to using precision fermentation for flavours. But only cell-based chocolate is true, premium chocolate."

About California Cultured

"California Cultured is making a more sustainable and ethical chocolate with their cell-culture technology. By creating an incredible-tasting chocolate that is free from deforestation and slave labour, California Cultured will be the future of chocolate and will give chocolate a future." Visit cacultured.com for more information.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with a focus on cellular agriculture. The Company has established a portfolio of 15 companies from the Pre-Seed to Series B stage in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a focus on products historically derived from animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and animals, as well as being fundamental to feeding the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/.

About Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products directly from cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter, or growing crops. This encompasses cell culture to produce cultivated meat and materials, and fermentation processes that harness a combination of molecular biology, synthetic biology, tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify production methods in a sustainable manner.

Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply traditionally derived from conventional agriculture is going to change dramatically. We have already witnessed the first wave of this shift with the consumer adoption of plant-based alternative proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even bigger wave of change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists claims that if we maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then we will not meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃

AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated meat's market share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the Good Food Institute's estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment will be required in order to produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating, however still less than US$ 1 billion has been invested worldwide since the industry's inception in 2016. 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

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