Once valued at $600 million, what went wrong at collapsing Believer Meats
The cultured meat pioneer, backed by over $390 million in funding, halts operations after completing a large-scale production facility and securing regulatory approvals, leaving the industry to question the viability of lab-grown meat at scale.
For nearly a decade, it was regarded as one of the most promising companies in its field. Investors poured in, public attention followed, and hopes grew that it could help revolutionize how meat is produced. But last week it emerged, largely under the radar, that Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat, had abruptly halted operations.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Just a month earlier, the company had completed construction of what it described as a first-of-its-kind industrial facility: a massive factory designed to produce cultured chicken at scale. The surprise was considerable. A company widely viewed as a leader in the cultured meat sector, one that had secured regulatory approval to market its products, had run out of cash and shut down.
Industry sources say a series of management decisions left the company with no alternative but to lay off its roughly 100 employees in the United States and Israel and suspend operations entirely. The collapse has prompted a broader question within foodtech circles: if one of the sector’s most advanced companies cannot survive, what does that mean for the future of cultured meat?
Believer Meats began as a research project in the laboratory of Prof. Yaakov Nahmias at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was incorporated in 2018 under the name Future Meat. It quickly drew attention after announcing it had developed meat grown from animal cells, without slaughter, with reduced environmental impact, and independent of conventional livestock agriculture.
The promise attracted major capital. In 2021, the company raised $347 million in a Series B round at a $600 million valuation, after earlier raising $43 million, drawing backing from both traditional food giants and foodtech-focused funds. Its investors included ADM Ventures, S2G Investments, Tyson Ventures, Rich Products Ventures, Emerald Technology Ventures, Cibus Capital, Bits x Bites, and others, as well as Israeli institutional investors including Menora Mivtachim and Neto.
In 2022, as part of a rebranding effort aimed at the international market and the establishment of U.S. operations, Future Meat changed its name to Believer Meats and appointed a new CEO. Gustavo Burger, formerly head of international operations at Kraft Heinz, took over the role, tasked with turning years of scientific promise into a commercial product, despite the absence of meaningful market penetration or large-scale production.
Believer Meats was not alone in making bold claims. Over the past decade, dozens of startups have promised to disrupt the global meat industry with lab-grown alternatives that avoid animal suffering, antibiotics, hormones, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions. The sector boomed in 2021, raising roughly $1 billion globally. Competitors such as Upside Foods and GOOD Meat raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
That enthusiasm, however, proved short-lived. By 2023, investment in cultured meat had fallen by roughly 80%. While regulators in the U.S., Israel, and Singapore issued initial approvals, none of the companies succeeded in achieving sustained commercial-scale production. Early restaurant pilots were discontinued. GOOD Meat halted sales at a Singapore restaurant in late 2023 due to losses and supply constraints, while Upside Foods ended its limited collaboration with a San Francisco restaurant in early 2024.
By 2025, commercial activity in the sector remained minimal, limited to demonstrations and pilot projects rather than permanent menu offerings.
Against this backdrop, Believer Meats appeared unusually well positioned. It had completed regulatory approval for cultured chicken in the United States and, just weeks ago, finished building a plant in North Carolina designed to produce up to 12,000 tons annually. Yet precisely at this moment, when it appeared closest to market, the company ceased operations.
Global head of HR and talent, Anne Schubert, wrote on LinkedIn: “After two years of building something truly bold and special, Believer Meats made the difficult decision last week to cease operations.” Management has since indicated it is seeking a buyer or alternative structure that could allow the business or its assets to continue in some form.
Complicating matters further is a lawsuit reported by AgFunderNews. The construction company behind the North Carolina plant is suing Believer Meats over an alleged $34 million debt. According to court filings, Believer failed to meet a December payment deadline and is accused of breaching agreements related to the facility, prompting demands for foreclosure or sale of the plant. Industry estimates suggest the factory’s monthly operating costs alone could approach $1 million.
The legal dispute, combined with dwindling investor appetite, is widely seen as a key factor behind the sudden shutdown.
Until recently, cultured meat was viewed as one of foodtech’s most promising frontiers. Now, with investment retreating and technical hurdles unresolved, confidence is eroding. Production remains costly, scale elusive, and final products expensive. Even companies with regulatory approval are struggling to demonstrate economic viability.
Some firms are adjusting course. Upside Foods has frozen plans for a large facility, while others are shifting toward “hybrid” products that combine plant-based ingredients with small amounts of cultured cells, raising new questions about their nutritional and culinary value.
The collapse of Believer Meats, once seen as a benchmark for industrial-scale production, has intensified doubts across the sector. As Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, founder of Redefine Meat, put it: producing cells “is not producing meat.” After a decade of development, the technological breakthrough many promised has yet to arrive.
