The cultivated meat sector is rapidly evolving from a handful of startups a decade ago into a global industry, with 174 companies worldwide working on cultivated meat and seafood in 2023, up from 107 in 2021, and production levels growing from kilograms to tonnes. Despite a recent slowdown during the broader 2022–2023 venture capital downturn, the sector has attracted approximately $3.1 billion in investment since 2016 to fund R&D, pilot facilities, and early scale-up efforts.
Still, the development of whole-cut cultivated meat remains constrained by capital-intensive infrastructure and persistent challenges in cell harvest efficiency and tissue formation. EdiMembre, a spinout of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is addressing these barriers with CraftRidge, a patent-protected, modular edible hollow fiber bioreactor platform purpose-built for scalable, capital-efficient whole-cut cultivated meat production.
By mimicking vascularization through edible hollow fiber scaffolds, CraftRidge supports cell adhesion, growth, and differentiation, delivering premium meat textures across multiple cell types and species. Today, EdiMembre offers countertop edible hollow fiber bioreactors for producing structured cultivated meat and high-protein, legume-based pasta, both of which have been validated by industry partners. The team is actively working to deliver systems at the kilogram scale.
EdiMembre modular bioreactor.
Branch Venture Group is proud to support the EdiMembre team as they continue to scale the CraftRidge platform. We believe EdiMembre is poised to define the future of cultivated meat for several key reasons:
Powering Technology for Scalable Whole-Cut Cultivated Meat
One of cultivated meat’s largest remaining challenges is producing structured, whole-cut products at scale and at affordable costs. EdiMembre’s CraftRidge platform is designed to support cell growth and structure formation simultaneously, offering a potential pathway to structured, whole-cut cultivated meat that has historically been difficult to achieve with large-scale bioreactors.
From a business case perspective, the company’s approach targets higher-value premium products, differentiating it from cell slurry approaches that use cells as ingredients in nuggets, meatballs, and burger patties. As a B2B provider, this creates opportunities for Cultivated Meat Products 2.0 and 3.0 for producers developing structured, whole-cut offerings. The CraftRidge technology has already been validated in countertop bioreactor systems by industry partners, demonstrating real-world applicability beyond the lab.
Strong, Merck-Originated IP and Platform Technology
EdiMembre was spun out from MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Sciences business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and holds an exclusive license to co the CraftRidge edible membrane platform developed there. The technology is protected by a robust patent portfolio and backed by years of internal R&D prior to spinout. This foundation provides both technical credibility and defensibility as EdiMembre advances toward commercialization.
Complementary Founding Team with Deep Technical Expertise
EdiMembre is led by CEO Tim Olsen, PhD, and CTO Ryan Sylvia, who have worked together for over five years across multiple ventures and geographies, including at MilliporeSigma prior to the spinout. Tim is a serial entrepreneur and recognized thought leader in cell-based meat, while Ryan is the scientific founder behind EdiMembre’s platform and brings more than 16 years of experience in membrane engineering, device integration, and bioprocessing. Their long-standing collaboration reflects strong team chemistry, a shared vision, and executional alignment.
We’re excited to see EdiMembre continue unlocking the manufacturing capabilities needed to bring scalable, high-quality cultivated proteins to market. To learn more about EdiMembre, visit their website.
If you’re interested in learning more about our work at Branch Venture Group, please visit our investor page or reach out to info@branchventuregroup.com.