#Bezos-backed fake meat and dairy company NotCo raises $235M

NotCo, a Jeff Bezos-backed, fake meat and dairy company, has just joined the unicorn club.

The Chilean-based company, which uses an artificial intelligence program called Giuseppe to make plant-based milk and meat products, said Monday it has raised another $235 million in a funding round that values the company at $1.5 billion.

NotCo said its latest round is being led by Tiger Global. Tennis great Roger Federer, race car driver Lewis Hamilton and DJ Questlove are becoming investors as well. Bezos invested $30 million in the company in 2019 when it launched mayonnaise that is made primarily from chickpeas.

NotCo, which launched five years ago in Latin America, introduced its its NotMilk products seven months ago to the US, where NotCo has five US patents for its technology, according to the company.

“Our patented A.I. gives us a significant competitive advantage due to the speed and accuracy with which we’re able to develop and bring new products to market,” NotCo Founder and CEO Matias Muchnick said in a statement.

In June, restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) invested in NotCo, but terms of that transaction were not disclosed.

Demand for plant-based foods and meat alternatives has grown during the pandemic as consumers look for healthier lifestyles and diets. One recent study shows that vegetarians were significantly less likely to contract COVID-19.

The company claims that its Giuseppe algorithms analyze thousands of plants in its database to come up with unique combinations that “replicate animal-based products almost to perfection.”

In Latin America, where the company has become the fastest-growing food tech company,  it sells NotMilk™, NotBurger™, NotMeat™, NotIceCream™ and NotMayo™ in more than 6,000 retailers globally. It also operates its own direct to consumer ecommerce, and has partnerships with Burger King and Papa John’s.