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Miruku, a New Zealand-based molecular dairy farming start-up, has secured $2.4 million in its latest seed funding round. The funding was led by venture capital fund Movac, with participation from Better Bite Ventures, Ahimsa Foundation and NZ Growth Capital Partners' Aspire fund. The company was founded in 2020 by Amos Palfreyman, Ira Bing, Harjinder Singh and Oded Shoseyov, who each have expertise in the dairy or science fields. Miruku uses a molecular farming process to create animal-free dairy proteins made from plants. This process enables the company to leverage plant cells as "mini-factories" to manufacture proteins, fats and sugars usually sourced from animals. The company's technology will enable the development of identical dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, with the possibility of new product formats. Shoseyov said: "Miruku's breakthrough plant technologies hold potential to produce animal-free milk proteins cost-effectively. Plants lie at the bottom of the food chain. Miruku cuts out the middlemen (cows), which convert plant energy (sugars) to proteins. Instead, Miruku produces its proteins directly in the plants themselves." He continued: "This is an elegant approach to energy and production efficiency, and this efficiency is better for soil, water and atmosphere. Plant-based food systems with improved protein functionality can contribute materially to balancing human and ecological needs." Palfreyman added: "We share a vision that applies the sharp edge of applied science to agronomy and food-tech, at scale, with global partners. Our goal is to provide nutritious and functional animal-free dairy, economically. The Miruku team is amped to have been joined by a special set of local and international institutional food-tech investors backing our vision of delicious and ecologically sustainable food production, and of course our growth plans."