The plant-based food producer increased its overall funding to almost $2bn in a round that brought the Stanford-linked company’s valuation to a reported $7bn.

Impossible Foods, the US-based vegetarian meat product manufacturer founded by a then-faculty member of Stanford University, closed its latest funding round at $500m on Tuesday.

The round was led by Mirae Asset Global Investments, the asset management arm of financial services group Mirae Asset Financial, and also featured unnamed existing investors, bringing the company’s total funding to nearly $2bn.

Sources told Bloomberg last month that the round was being raised at a valuation of $7bn.

Impossible Foods produces plant-based alternatives to meat products such as burgers, nuggets, sausages, pork and meatballs. Proceeds from the round will be used to grow its supply chain as well as being put toward international expansion plans and technology development.

The company was founded in 2011 by Patrick Brown, then a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University.

The company raised $200m in an August 2020 series G round led by Coatue Management with Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, hedge fund manager XN and Mirae Asset Global Investments also participating.

Mirae Asset Global Investments had previously led a $500m series F round for Impossible in March 2020 that included Temasek and venture capital firms Khosla Ventures and Horizons Ventures as well as private investors including Peter Jackson and Mindy Kaling.

Horizons Ventures and Temasek had co-led the company’s $300m series E round in mid-2019, investing alongside conglomerate Alphabet corporate venturing subsidiary GV, Viking Global Investors, Khosla Ventures, Sailing Capital, Open Philanthropy Project and angels.

GV, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, Viking Global and Khosla Ventures were all existing investors in Impossible. Its earlier backers include financial services firm UBS, Open Philanthropy Project and Bill Gates.

David Borecky, chief financial officer of Impossible Foods, said: “We are fortunate to have great investors who believe in our long-term mission.

“The latest round of funding allows us to further accelerate our product innovation and global expansion efforts as we continue to leverage the power of the food system to satisfy consumers and fight climate change.”

A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing. Photograph courtesy of Impossible Foods.

Fernando Moncada Rivera

Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.