Altrnative eprotein sources range from cell-based cultures to seeds from plants like oat, almond, soy and pea. Leaft Foods, however, is enabling the extraction of protein from the most abundant commodity of any plant – its leaves. On the back of this breakthrough, the company has raised a Series A round of $15M from Khosla Ventures, NBA star Steven Adams, New Zealand indigenous investor Ngāi Tahu and sovereign health provider ACC via their Climate Change Impact Fund. The new funding will be used to build out R&D, growth, and create a global value chain starting with the United States.
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“At Khosla, we are all about investing in technologies that are bold and impactful,” said Alice Brooks of Khosla Ventures. “We are excited to be an early investor in Leaft and to work together with the team as they bring in a new era of agriculture and a shift in the way sustainable food is produced at scale.”
Every plant uses “RuBisCo” (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase) as part of its photosynthesis process, making it the most plentiful protein on earth. Leaft Foods enables the extraction of RuBisCo, resulting in a protein that is as good as any animal protein with the same digestibility, while also being allergen-free.
Co-founder Maury Leyland Penno says: “We’re reimagining how we make food and this could be a pathway to rapidly decarbonise by allowing farmers to farm in partnership with nature, creating a new approach to regenerative agriculture.”
Harnessing a plant protein from leaves that acts like animal protein – and has a similar amino acid profile to beef – provides the potential to use less than 2 percent of the current agricultural land around the world to feed the population.
“Nature’s biggest animals – elephants, buffalo and cattle – are all herbivores who have evolved to digest protein in leaves, especially with the latter two having multiple stomachs. But while it’s trapped inside a plant cell, it’s hard for humans to eat enough leaves for a sufficient serving of protein, let alone digest all of that plant matter,” said Co-founder Dr. John Penno.
“Our technology forges a new way to tap plant protein that is tasty, nutritious, scalable and accessible for everyone. It’s truly transformational.”
NBA Memphis Grizzlies star, New Zealander, and active impact investor Steven Adams adds, “Hey team, when are you going to deliver me a plant protein that doesn’t taste like sh*t and give me gas?”