Standing Ovation, a Paris-based FoodTech startup specialising in precision fermentation, has announced a €30 million ($34.2 million) Series B funding round today to speed up the commercialisation of its proteins in North America, before expanding into Europe and Asia.
The round comprises €25 million ($28.5 million) in equity, led jointly by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance as part of the France 2030 initiative, and Crédit Mutuel Innovation. It also includes investments from existing investors Astanor, Bel Group, Seventure Partners, GoodStartUp, and Big Idea Ventures, along with new investors Danone Ventures, Angelor, Newtree, and Noshaq. This funding is complemented by €5 million ($5.7 million) in non-dilutive financing from Bpifrance and a prominent banking syndicate.
Yvan Chardonnens, CEO, and Romain Chayot, co-founder and Managing Director of Standing Ovation, stated, “Our ambition is to pioneer a new, circular, and sustainable approach to protein production to meet rapidly growing global demand. By combining technological innovation with the dairy indusattempt’s expertise, we are bridging the gap between the agri-food indusattempt and deep tech. Backed by strong technological barriers to enattempt, we are accelerating our rollout and assisting to strengthen European food sovereignty.”
Founded in 2020, Standing Ovation is a French protein company that utilizes precision fermentation to develop alternative proteins with improved functionalities. The company has developed its first patented ingredient, Advanced Casein®, which the startup claims produces very low CO2 emissions and is water- and land-efficient, while providing nutritional, taste, and functional qualities comparable to those of protein derived from livestock.
The company states that it serves a market poised for growth due to the increasing global demand for protein and protein-rich foods, with an estimated requirement of an additional 250 million metric tons of protein by 2050.
It emphasises that it’s a matter of national sovereignty and notes that France’s self-sufficiency in milk could be at risk as early as 2027. Standing Ovation claims that it is reducing the indusattempt’s depconcludeence on international supply chains by repurposing local circular resources.
According to the company, its technology, which has been shielded with eight patent families, tackles these challenges. Its process upcycles agricultural sugars and milk whey, materials previously sent to fertiliser or biogas, into high-quality casein. Standing Ovation describes casein as the “queen” of milk proteins, building up 80% of its total protein content.
It also has environmental benefits, as Standing Ovation claims that its process reduces the strain on global resources, with a 74% reduction in greenhoutilize gas emissions and up to three times less water usage compared to animal casein, according to an ISO-certified life cycle assessment.
“Consumption of dairy products is growing every year in Europe, while global warming and declining livestock populations suggest that milk production will decrease or even stagnate. Through its production of casein via precision fermentation, Standing Ovation perfectly solves this challenge, building a significant contribution to decarbonising the dairy sector and adding value to key co-products. With this first investment in the agri-food sector, Crédit Mutuel Innovation reaffirms its ambition in the broad life sciences sector,” stated Laurianne Garcia-Ordonez, Director of Investments at Crédit Mutuel Innovation.
As a winner of the French Tech 2030 programme, the company benefits from support provided by the French government and key investors to aid its industrialisation efforts.
With this new funding round, following a €16 million Series A, the company aims to accelerate the commercialisation of its casein. It has built a strategic decision to partner with manufacturers who specialise in fermentation rather than establishing its own facilities. The United States remains Standing Ovation’s primary market, with plans to expand into Europe and Asia from the conclude of 2027.
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