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Food technology start-up Tender Food has raised $12 million in a seed funding round, which it will use to scale up its alternative protein offerings. The round was led by Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, with other investors including Rhapsody Venture Partners, actress Natalie Portman, Safar Partners, Bread and Butter Ventures, MCJ Collective and food tech specialist Unovis. Tender Food has developed a technology that enables the production of animal-free, whole muscle cut products such as chicken breasts, pulled pork and steaks, while retaining their high protein nutritional profiles with no additives or fillers. The company's manufacturing process, which is licensed by Harvard University, involves spinning plant proteins into strands that mimic real meat muscle fibres. Christophe Chantre, CEO and co-founder of Tender, said: "Our ambition is to make products that are indistinguishable from butchered meat. By recreating the textures and fibres of animal-based meats, we can ensure that no matter what cut of meat you want, a plant-based product from Tender is what you reach for." With the new investment, Tender plans to expand production and launch its debut products later this year.