Integriculture

Tokyo-based Integriculture Inc. operates as a cellular agriculture infrastructure company, positioning itself to solve one of the sector's most significant hurdles: the prohibitive cost of cell culture media. Founded in October 2015 by CEO Dr. Yuki Hanyu and CTO Dr. Ikko Kawashima, the company emerged from the Shojinmeat Project, a nonprofit citizen-science initiative started by Hanyu in 2014 to democratize cellular agriculture. Hanyu, an Oxford-educated chemist with a background in nanofabrication and prior experience at Toshiba, provides the engineering vision, while Kawashima, a biologist with a Ph.D. in Agricultural Science, brings the life sciences expertise.

The company's core technology is the proprietary "CulNet System," a platform designed to drastically lower production costs by eliminating the need for expensive, externally added growth factors like fetal bovine serum (FBS). The system emulates the natural processes within an animal's body, using "feeder" cells (such as liver or placental cells) in separate tanks to secrete the necessary growth factors, which are then supplied to a central tank where the target cells (like muscle and fat) are grown. This approach not only addresses the cost issue but also creates a cleaner product. This versatile system is species-agnostic, capable of culturing any animal cell, enabling applications beyond food into cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other biological materials.

Integriculture's business model is a hybrid, encompassing both B2B and B2C elements. The primary strategy is to function as an infrastructure provider, licensing its CulNet technology and offering contract research, development, and manufacturing (CRDMO) services to partners through its "CulNet Pipeline" program. It also established the CulNet Consortium to foster an ecosystem of collaboration across the supply chain. To generate revenue and showcase its technology, the company develops its own products. It has launched a skincare ingredient called Cellament and has developed cultivated duck liver prototypes with plans for cell-based foie gras. The company has attracted significant investment, including a JPY 300 million seed round in 2018 and a JPY 800 million Series A round in 2020, with backers like AgFunder, Real Tech Fund, and NH Foods.

Keywords: cellular agriculture, cultivated meat, CulNet System, cell culture media, growth factors, food technology, B2B licensing, contract manufacturing, CRDMO, Yuki Hanyu, Ikko Kawashima, low-cost cell culture, Shojinmeat Project, sustainable protein, foie gras, cosmetics ingredients, Cellament, biotechnology platform, cell-based products, alternative proteins