Plant-based food startup Next Gen raises $100 million in funding

ZURICH (Reuters) - Next Gen Foods, which makes a plant-based chicken alternative, has raised $100 million in a funding round that takes the startup's total funding above $130 million as it seeks to step up international expansion.

Southeast Asian venture capital firm Alpha JWC, Singapore-based global investment fund EDBI and UK-based MPL Ventures were new investors, Next Gen said in a statement.

Also participating were existing investors Temasek, through its newly established Asia Sustainable Food Platform, GGV Capital, K3 Ventures and Bits x Bites.

Next Gen, founded in 2020 by Timo Recker and Andre Menezes, said the funding would help to bring its TiNDLE plant-based chicken to new markets, notably the United States, where the product is now available in some restaurants in major cities.

The Singapore-based company, which competes with market leaders Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Nestle, will also use the funds to boost research capabilities with a new facility in Singapore this year.

Recker previously founded German plant-based meat company LikeMeat, which was sold to LIVEKINDLY in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by David Goodman)