BlueNalu Raises $4.5 Million to Launch “Cellular Aquaculture”
New Crop Capital Leads Seed Round, with Coalition of 25 Global Investors  

San Diego, CA – BlueNalu, a pioneer in the field of “cellular aquaculture,” announced the closing of a $4.5 million seed round, just two months after announcing the launch of the company. New Crop Capital served as lead investor and was joined by a diverse coalition of 25 venture organizations and individuals from the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Israel, and Luxembourg.   

BlueNalu’s cellular aquaculture™ process will provide an alternative to current industry practices in which fish are farmed or wild-caught. BlueNalu will ultimately produce real seafood products directly from fish cells, in a way that is healthy for people, humane for animals, and sustainable for our planet.

“It’s time to rethink seafood and how we can sustainably feed our global population in the decades ahead,” said Lou Cooperhouse, President & CEO of BlueNalu.  Cooperhouse added, “We are very grateful for the tremendous interest in BlueNalu from both the financial and mission-driven venture community, and we are extremely pleased by the global reach and diversity of the investors in our seed round. This level of funding will allow us to aggressively develop our technology platform and the commercialization strategy required for product manufacture.  We are also implementing strategic partnerships that will enable us to ultimately reach our target customers with a line of great-tasting, distinctive, and cost-effective seafood products for global distribution.”

Chris Kerr, Chief Investment Officer at New Crop Capital, commented: “This is the largest seed round to date in this category, and one of the largest that has occurred globally in the entire ‘clean meat’ space. We are very excited at the market potential for BlueNalu and their ability to offer consumers an alternative to conventional animal sources that today originate only in our oceans and seas.” He added, “We are thrilled by the level of professional expertise of the BlueNalu team in the diversified fields of cell biology, tissue engineering, intellectual property, food innovation, technology commercialization, and consumer marketing.”

BlueNalu was founded by Chris Somogyi, Chairman; Lou Cooperhouse, President & CEO; and Chris Dammann, PhD, Chief Technology Officer; together with New Crop Capital.  BlueNalu is based in San Diego, CA. Further information about BlueNalu can be found at http://bluenalu.com. Further information about New Crop Capital can be found at http://www.newcropcapital.com.

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