Better Origin raises $16million for insect mini-farms

Cambridge-based Better Origin, developers of AI enabled insect mini-farms that can fit inside shipping containers, has raised $16million in a Series A funding round.

Fotis Fotiadis, CEO and co-founder of Better Origin, says: “One of the biggest problems our generation will face is how to produce food sustainably and securely. Our solution is to localise the food supply chain and convert food waste back into food.

“We’re tackling a huge problem – the inefficiency of our broken food chain – but with support like this, we’re more motivated than ever.”

The $16 million funding round was led by UK investors Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors Fly Ventures and Metavallon VC, and will be used to help the company scale internationally and grow the team.

“Fotis, Miha Pipan, and the Better Origin team are working to fundamentally change our broken food chain, for the benefit of everyone,” says Suranga Chandratillake, general partner at Balderton Capital. “Climate change, the pandemic, political tensions and our growing population have demonstrated time and again how fragile our current systems are. They’ve also shown how farming currently exacerbates the challenges we face and solutions so far are not leading to the wholesale change we need. Better Origin presents a new approach and we believe it can have a transformational effect on food and farming systems.”

More information about Better Origin.