In late July, the Chilean foodtech company NotCo became a unicorn after raising US$235 million in its fourth round of funding. NotCo is the largest foodtech company in Latin America and joins a growing ranks of similar companies that have sprung up around the world in a short period of time. According to some estimates, the market for meat produced from plant-based proteins will reach US$140,000 million by 2029—ten times larger than in 2019. The Boston Consulting Group, for its part, estimates that products made with alternative proteins could account for 11% of the meat, dairy, and egg market by 2035 in its base-case scenario and 22% in its best-case scenario. The keys to this emerging industry? Technology, technology, and technology.

NotCo, for example, uses artificial intelligence to develop flavors and textures similar to those of the original products. The U.S.-based company Benson Hill, for its part, has created CropOS, which uses AI and machine learning to develop varieties of the plants most commonly used as alternative protein sources—soybeans and yellow peas—that offer higher quality, greater productivity, and lower water and energy consumption. Another example is Nature Fynd, which announced a third round of funding worth $350 million in July and creates alternative dairy and meat products using a highly versatile fungal protein produced from a microbe originating in the geothermal springs of Yellowstone National Park, consuming only a fraction of the water and energy used by traditional products.

This has whetted investors' appetites. Funding for these companies has grown exponentially, mainly from private equity funds. Bon appétit!