Ki Tua Fund

A huge congrats to our team who attended the 2024 Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit, taking home the Silicon Valley Summit Food & Beverage Corporate Award 👏 The three-day Summit celebrated the achievements of over 300 innovative startups spanning 17 industry-focused innovation programs.   “It was a great honour to receive the Silicon Valley Summit Corporate Award from Plug and Play Food & Beverage. At Ki Tua Fund, we believe that fostering meaningful collaborations between Startups and Corporates is critical for industry to thrive, and we’re grateful for our partnership with Plug and Play to support this.” - Campbell Grieve, Investment Manager.

We are grateful for the opportunity to honor Ki Tua Fund as the recipient of the Silicon Valley Summit Corporate Award. Ki Tua Fund has continuously focused on innovation and the future as they work with startups. Our startups often report that they appreciate their presence and guidance within the batch program. We are lucky to have such an awesome team to work alongside, and we are so excited for what the future of the Ki Tua Fund and Plug and Play partnership holds!

After four years of groundbreaking work, Prolific Machines are coming out of stealth with their photomolecular biology platform. I'm thrilled to announce that we've recently closed their Series B fundraise, a huge milestone marking the next chapter for this company. Prolific Machines' photomolecular biology platform is truly cutting-edge. Light’s unparalleled precision, safety and abundance allows the company to control any cellular function in any cell type. This will be revolutionary across cultivated meat, therapeutics, nutritional proteins, tissue development, and beyond. I'm also incredibly proud to be joining their board as a director. I've had the privilege of witnessing the dedication, brilliance, and sheer determination of the Prolific Machines team. An exciting journey to be a part of going forward! Prolific Machines, Inc. Ki Tua Fund, Deniz Kent, PhD, Declan Jones, Max Huisman

We’re thrilled to announce today that we’re investing into Prolific Machines, Inc. - the photomolecular biology innovator ushering in a new era of growing and controlling cells with light 💡   Prolific Machines’ photomolecular biology platform is the first to commercially leverage light, a universal input understandable to both biological and mechanical systems, to guide cellular behaviour and optimize this performance over time using AI technology.    Light’s unparalleled precision allows the company to control any cellular function in any cell type. The first applications of this innovation will soon be announced in upcoming partnerships, but the potential spans cultivated meat, high-value proteins, advanced materials, tissue development, drug discovery, and beyond.   “Breakthrough innovations like Prolific Machine’s biomanufacturing platform don’t come along often — we’re proud to help accelerate and scale this disruptive solution that could make a positive impact on both human and environmental health, across multiple industries.” - Komal Mistry-Mehta, Ki Tua Fund Managing Director.   Follow the link below to learn more. Campbell Grieve Mike Cronin Bill Liao Rodolphe Barrangou

We're excited to be a part of Nimble Science who are a digital health company delivering a first-in-class home-based platform to collect multi-omic microbiome data directly from the small intestine. "The SIMBA capsule is an exciting technology that provides unique insight into what is happening in the upper intestine. This insight could unlock entirely new markets by enabling precision formulation of nutritional products for very targeted health benefits.” - Tim Carroll, Head of Science and Technology at Ki Tua Fund.

🧀 Precision fermented cheese 🐟 Seaweed-derived salmon fillets 💪🏻 Silk-worm protein powder 🌥 Oils synthesized from air   After two weeks to ruminate, here's four key takeaways from attending the Future of Food Tech and World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco alongside Jon Sandbrook:   𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐱 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝: With tightened capital markets, investors are looking for reassurance that the pathway to scale won't cost an arm and a leg. The science continues to progress across Food and Agri-Tech. However, the key question remains: Can you reduce production costs? 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆: Supporting these low-capex businesses is a maturing market for input support and consultants. Strain optimization, fermentation, refinement, and downstream process development are on call, ready to leverage a growing capability in scaling alternative ingredient tech. 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲: Ki Tua Fund's conviction of food and nutrition as a preventative measure of health conditions is strongly supported. Excitement is high off the back of GLP-1 data, and we follow with interest how new bio actives from food develop. 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶-𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀: In the face of AI-enabled SaaS and well-funded Food Tech, investors remain tentative on the role of Agri-Tech in their portfolios… though with the common caveat that great founders will find funding.

Thank you to NZTech and BIOTech New Zealand for hosting a great conference last week! The Life Sciences Summit 2024 covered many thought-provoking topics to challenge how we can progress the Life Sciences industry in New Zealand. Some of my key takeaways: - Hon Judith Collins KC, NZ's Minister of Science, Innovation & Technology encouraging NZ to be a "scaled up nation, not just a nation of start-ups". - Factors that will accelerate NZ's startup ecosystem will include: creating a pipeline for talent to thrive, access to capital and overseas markets, creating an IP Strategy early for the best commercial outcomes. - I enjoyed the talks on microorganisms being the key to unlocking a sustainable future, and the importance of regulatory support. Some applications include food ingredients being produced via precision fermentation, unlocking new 'Waste to Value' streams by upcycling CO2, or creating green hydrogen from biomass. - Traditional R&D models for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry can take 10+ years and cost >$2B, whereas using GenAI can reduce this to months and produce upwards of $100B in value annually. It was an inspiring few days with many new connections formed! #lifesciencessummit #newzealand #biotech #innovation Ki Tua Fund

🌟 Meet Ki Tua Fund at the Future Food-Tech and World Agri-Tech conference in San Francisco next week! Our team is looking forward to connecting with innovative start-ups and industry professionals 🌟 #futurefoodtech #worldagritech #sanfrancisco #agritech #foodtech #foodinnovation 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas filled with joy, laughter, and cherished moments 🎄 We look forward to sharing more with you in 2024 as we take you along Ki Tua Fund’s journey. From all of us here at Ki Tua Fund, stay safe and have a wonderful holiday!

Last week, some of the Ki Tua Fund team attended the Plug and Play Winter Summit in Silicon Valley, CA. Plug and Play Tech Center is the world’s leading innovation platform; connecting entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors worldwide. It was a great opportunity to discuss emerging innovations in industries such as Food, Health, and Sustainability and to connect with like-minded investors. The calibre of speakers and panellists was high, and we look forward to connecting with everyone again soon! Learn more about the event here: https://brnw.ch/21wFsMf