A Singapore-based company is extracting cells from endangered, threatened and protected seafood species and growing them in laboratories.
With overfishing, ocean pollution and climate change threatening marine ecosystems, lab-grown fish and seafood are touted by some as a potential solution to fishing challenges.
Singaporean company Umami Bioworks is developing a platform to produce cell-based seafood products.
Mihir Pershad, founder and CEO of Umami, told CNBC Tech: “We look for endangered, threatened or protected species that are in high demand and visibility among consumers, but where it is not economically feasible to grow them on farms. Not easy.
The company focuses on a few species, such as eels, bluefin tuna, red snapper, lobster and prawns.
But unlike other lab-grown food companies, Umami’s goal isn’t to produce a finished product.
“Our goal is really to sell capacity and basically become a technology partner. Our core platform brings together stem cell biology, machine learning and industrial automation,” Pershad said.
Umami hopes to begin commercialization in 2025.
In 2023, it partnered with Israeli company Steakholder Foods to produce the world’s first 3D-printed lab-grown fish fillet, and it is currently working with a Malaysian biotech company to bring the first large-scale cultured food factory to Southeast Asia.
Such partnerships are critical to ensuring the sustainability of Asia’s aquaculture industry, which accounts for 92% of global production.
Watch the video above to learn how Umami Bioworks produces cell-based seafood products.
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