On May 4, 2022, VitroLabs Inc, a Bay-Area-based biotech company leading the development of a new scientific process to grow the world’s first cellular cultivated animal leather, announced that it has closed its Series A financing to build and scale pilot production. The company has raised a total of $46 million. The funding is led by Agronomics and other investors include BESTSELLER’s Invest FWD, global luxury group Kering, Khosla Ventures, actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, New Agrarian, and Regeneration.VC. In addition, Kering continues its partnership with VitroLabs in bringing support for product quality testing, tanning, and finishing. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised VitroLabs on the transaction.

VitroLabs is the first start-up positioned to bring cultivated leather to scale. Since 2016, the company has been pioneering the cutting edge material made by using advanced tissue engineering processes to create cell cultivated animal leather from only a few animal cells. The company has made significant progress on product quality in the optimization of cell expansion processes and proprietary design of a novel, large-scale tissue cultivator. The funding will be used to fast-track commercialization, with expansion of scientific, manufacturing, and business development teams.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised VitroLabs on the transaction included:

Corporate
Mark Solakian
Rich Evans
Jake Gatof
Priyanka Nawathe
Andrew Thompson

IP (Patents and Innovations)
Vern Norviel

Technology Transactions
James Clessuras

For more information, please see VitroLabs' press release.