Financing the Future of Fermentation

In the world of food technology, raising capital has never been simple, but today it feels especially complex. The macroeconomic environment is shifting, timelines are long, and investors are more cautious than ever, and for companies betting on the future of fermentation the leap from pilot-scale success to industrial-scale delivery can seem enormous.

At Vivici, we’ve learned bridging that gap isn’t about chasing hype or moving faster at all costs. It’s about credibility, disciplined execution, pragmatic financing, and the kind of open collaboration that allows innovation to scale sustainably. Investors are really focused on execution and delivery now – not just a compelling story, but proof that you’ve done what you said you would do.

From vision to validation

Precision fermentation holds incredible potential: the ability to produce proteins with superior nutrition and functionality as Whey Protein Isolate, without the environmental impact and without compromising on flavor, feel, or experience.

We’re building a company capable of making that promise real.

Backed by DSM and Fonterra, Vivici is proving that precision fermentation can deliver superior dairy proteins at commercial scale. We even brought to market our first ingredient, Vivitein™ BLG, just over two years after founding, a pace that’s rare in any industry, let alone one redefining the boundaries of biotechnology and food science.

That progress isn’t accidental, it’s the result of disciplined execution and a milestone-driven approach to building both credibility and momentum.

In today’s financing landscape, you can’t just show up with a vision and expect a check anymore; you need a credible path forward. Investors are focused on delivery: proof that you’ve done what you said you would do. For Vivici, that means raising capital in clearly defined phases, each one tied to specific technical, commercial, and regulatory milestones. And once we achieve them, we invite the next group of investors to join our journey.

This approach keeps us focused, builds trust and ensures that every round of financing moves us closer to scale, not just to the next milestone but to a more sustainable food future.
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Knowing when to innovate

You can’t innovate across every part of the value chain, nor should you. The art is knowing when to innovate and when to execute.

Many startups in our space begin on the tech side, develiping a unique strain or a breakthrough process. But that’s just the starting point. Consumers don’t buy breakthrough tech, they buy food. To bring a new ingredient to market, you need to master everything from upstream and downstream processing to regulatory approval, scale-up, manufacturing, formulation, and customer integration. Each step demands different expertise, and each one matters.

That’s why Vivici is built differently. From day one, we invested in commercial capability alongside R&D. Even while our scientists were perfecting the first grams of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), our commercial team was already in conversations with customers, understanding where the value lies, what functionality matters, and how our proteins could integrate into real products.

That early dialogue helped us move faster and smarter and allowed us to move from lab to launch in record time.
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Financing the scale-up gap

Of course, one of the biggest challenges for business regarding the future of fermentation is scaling-up. Moving from pilot to full industrial production is where even the strongest concepts can stumble.

If you look at traditional project financing, lenders are used to working with businesses that have 10- or 15-year offtake agreements in place. That’s just not how the food industry works, especially for novel ingredients. Venture investors, on the other hand, are often reluctant to fund the capital intensity required for industrial manufacturing.

This creates a structural mismatch: too early for project finance, too capital-heavy for venture.

To bridge that, we need new partnership models. Creative collaborations between companies, investors, and manufacturers that unlock capacity while sharing risk. Governments or philanthropic organizations can play a catalytic role here, too, by designing underwriting mechanisms or guarantees that de-risk infrastructure investment for early-stage technologies.

That doesn’t mean throwing discipline out the window. If anything, it demands more of it. We need to combine financial pragmatism with strategic vision: knowing when to invest, when to partner, and when to leverage existing capacity rather than building from scratch.

At Vivici, we’re doing exactly that. We blend strategic investment, strong partnerships, and transparent communication. We engage continuously with both current and potential investors, sharing our roadmap and results openly. That transparency builds trust, and trust, in turn, unlocks growth.
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Collaboration as competitive advantage

At Vivici, we’ve built a model rooted in partnership and co-innovation. We connect with experts across the value chain: brilliant strain developers, CDMOs, regulatory specialists, food formulators. Each brings unique expertise that helps us move faster and smarter.

That mindset (open innovation over vertical integration) is part of our DNA. It’s not just about finding partners, it’s about aligning incentives from day one. Every collaboration begins with a shared understanding of what each side needs and what success looks like. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, collaboration becomes a competitive advantage.

And it’s not just external collaboration. Internally, our culture is built around shared ownership and continuous learning. We combine scientific rigor with business pragmatism and that balance is what allows us to turn great ideas into tangible results.
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Building credibility through delivery

Ultimately, financing the future of food innovation comes down to one word: credibility.

Investors don’t just want compelling stories, they want proof of execution. Regulators want confidence in safety and transparency. Customers want reliability, scalability, and consistent quality. And consumers want trust in the products they’re choosing.

At Vivici, we’re delivering on all those fronts. Our customers are already making fantastic products with our ingredients. Market demand is strong and growing. The challenge now isn’t proving the technology works, it’s scaling fast enough to meet that demand. It’s not about whether the technology will mature, it’s about whether we can scale fast enough to meet the demand.

That’s what gives me confidence. The demand for sustainable, functional, and great-tasting proteins isn’t a future trend; it’s here today. The companies that succeed will be the ones that can deliver credibly, collaboratively, and consistently.
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A new chapter for food innovation

The journey to scale precision fermentation isn’t just about financing a new category. It’s about financing a new food system. One that’s more resilient, efficient, and sustainable.

That future won’t be built by any one company alone. It will be shaped by partnerships (between innovators, investors, and policymakers) that share a vision of food systems designed for both people and the planet.

At Vivici, we’re proud to be part of that transformation. Our mission is simple: to make sustainable protein accessible at scale. Every decision we make is about turning that mission into impact, because the future of fermentation isn’t just about what we make: it’s about how we build it, together.