Beta Hatch is building a 42,000 square-foot flagship facility near Seattle.
Geek Wire reports that that the start-up Beta Hatch has received USD 9.3 million in funding to build what will be North America’s largest mealworm farm.
The series A round was co-led by Cavallo Ventures, the venture capital arm of liquid chemical manufacturer giant Wilbur-Ellis, and rural venture firm Innova Memphis as well as Brighton Jones Investment Partners, AccelR8, and SeaAhead.
Beta Hatch’s total funding has reached USD 18.6 million.
The new funds will go towards the complete construction of a 42,000 square-foot flagship facility, a former juice factory, in Cashmere, Washington.
According to Agfunder News, Beta Hatch cultivates mealworms for animal feed using patent-pending equipment, a trade-secret process, and unique genetic stock, developed by entomologist and founder Virginia Emery.
Aiming to target the farmed salmon feed market, Emery told the publication that she is targetting a price of USD 2,000 per tonne with a ten-year guarantee, selling to feed manufacturers and not directly to farms.
