At the end of July, Chilean foodtech NotCo became a unicorn after raising US$235 million in its fourth round of financing. NotCo is the largest foodtech in Latin America and joins a growing army of similar companies that has exploded around the world in a short time. According to some estimates, the market for meat produced from plant proteins will reach US$140 billion by 2029, ten times more than in 2019. Boston Consulting Group, meanwhile, estimates that products made from alternative proteins could reach 11% of the meat, dairy and egg market by 2035 in its baseline scenario and 22% in its best-case scenario. The keys to this nascent industry? Technology, technology and technology.

NotCo, for example, uses artificial intelligence to develop flavors and textures similar to the original products. The U.S.-based Benson Hill, meanwhile, has created CropOS, which uses AI and machine learning to develop varieties of the plants most commonly used as a source of alternative protein - soybeans and yellow peas - with better quality, higher productivity and lower water and energy consumption. Another example is Nature Fynd, which announced in July a third round of financing of US$350 million and creates alternative dairy and meat products with a highly versatile mushroom protein produced from a microbe originating in the geothermal springs of Yellowstone Park, consuming only a fraction of the water and energy of traditional products.

This has whetted the appetite of investors. Financing for these companies has grown exponentially, mainly from private equity funds. Bon apetit!