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US food tech start-up, Lypid, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round to expand its PhytoFat portfolio of vegan fats that mimic the texture and flavour of animal fats. The round was led by Green Generation Fund, with participation from Big Idea Ventures, Foodland Ventures, SOSV’s IndieBio, among others. The capital will be used to help Lypid bring its product to market and expand into the US, Europe and Asia. Using Lypid’s microencapsulation method, PhytoFat maintains its animal fat-like qualities when heated above 165 degrees celsius, producing vegan fats with "juicy" animal-like texture, melting behaviour and better nutritional profile. PhytoFat has no artificial additives, hydrogenation and contains zero trans fats. Victor Chen, co-founder and CEO of Foodland Ventures, said: “ technology creates great diversity for plant-based fats – it could be the vital ingredient for better-tasting plant-based meats or a healthier alternative for traditional meat-based products”. Jen-Yu Huang, Lypid's co-founder, said: “We see fat as a critical catalyst to bring meat alternatives to the next level – tastier, healthier and more sustainable. Now our goal is to bring production of PhytoFat to the industrial level. We are aiming to produce more than 10 tonnes per year for each production line.”