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SINGAPORE – Can milk be produced in a laboratory rather than from cows or humans? And can it taste the same?
Local biotech company TurtleTree Labs certainly thinks so, and impressed the 2020 World Cup of Entrepreneurship judges enough to take home the top $ 500,000 (Singapore $ 678,000) cash prize.
The challenge of discovering the next generation of entrepreneurs saw 175,000 participants from 200 countries virtually compete for the award, which was organized by the Riyadh-based Global Misk Forum on October 19.
The forum is a flagship event of a non-profit foundation created by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The winners were selected by a vote of the audience and a panel of international judges.
TurtleTree Labs co-founder Lin Fengru called the win a “wonderful surprise.”
“Winning this contest highlights the importance of sustainable food production and community support around these technologies,” he said.
“We are proud to represent Singapore on the world stage.”
Founded last year by Ms. Lin, 32, and Mr. Max Rye, 40, TurtleTree Labs uses cell-based methods to produce milk without the need for animals, while retaining the same composition and flavor.
Fresh cells are extracted from mammalian milk ranging from cow’s milk to breast milk.
The cells are cultured and exposed to a special formula that makes them lactate. The final product, milk, is obtained through a filtration process.
These cell-based feeds, Ms. Lin said, could be a solution to the problems of intensive land use, energy and water consumption that are associated with traditional dairy farming.
“The population of our planet is only going to grow, and we have to keep innovating to provide better nutrition for all in a sustainable way.”
Currently, the world population grows by 80 million people each year. According to UN projections, there will be two billion more mouths to feed by 2050.
This is the first time that a Singapore startup has won the top prize in the challenge.
TurtleTree Labs outperformed two Canadian competitors that placed second and third, including one that uses bacteria to transform organic waste into usable materials and chemicals.
The company is on a roll, as the Temasek Foundation awarded it $ 1 million in funding in July after winning this year’s edition of The Liveability Challenge, which seeks solutions to some of the biggest problems facing Southeast cities. Asian.
Previously, it caught the attention of global investors such as Hong Kong-based alternative protein specialist Green Monday Ventures and raised $ 3.2 million in seed funding.
Lin said the award money will go towards his research and development activities, such as finding new ways to extract biologically active components from milk that have health benefits.
“It is good to see this emerging industry surrounding novel food production methods recognized,” he said, adding that TurtleTree Labs has benefited from government support from the Singapore Food Agency, Enterprise Singapore, and A * Star. .
“We look forward to working closely with them.”
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