Gujarat-based Zero Cow Factory, a biotechnology company producing animal-free protein and dairy products using bioengineering microbes and precision fermentation, announced today that it has raised $4 million (Rs 32 crore) in a seed round. 

The round was co-led by Green Frontier Capital, GVFL and pi Ventures, with participation from Pascual Innoventures, the investment arm of a Spanish dairy group Calidad Pascual. 

With this funding, Zero Cow Factory will be able to accelerate its research and development efforts, scale up production capacity, and obtain regulatory approvals to hit the market.

Founded by Sohail Kapadia and Parini Kapadia, the company aims to revolutionise the dairy industry by producing sustainable animal-free milk proteins and dairy products. The company claims that its product is a new alternative to cow’s milk protein that replicates its taste, texture, nutrient profile, and appearance.

According to a company statement, it has developed a patented technology to produce dairy proteins such as casein and whey, without any animal being involved. The company claims to be highly focused on animal-free casein production which is the most complex protein and hasn’t been commercialized by any company globally.

Addressing the latest development, Sohil Kapadia, co-founder and CEO of Zero Cow Factory, said, "We are excited to partner with our investors' outstanding setup and combine them with our talented team, which positions us uniquely to lead the way in building a global dairy 3.0 that is animal-free, sustainable, and scalable." 

“We are developing a technology to reproduce milk proteins to craft real dairy products that are ethical, safe, delicious, and identical to cow milk but without any animal involved,” said Parini Kapadia, co-founder and CSO of Zero Cow Factory, added. 

Shubham Sandeep, MD at pi Ventures, said, “Zero Cow Factory’s use of cutting-edge bioengineering and life science-based technologies to change the future of food production aligns well with our investment thesis of backing disruptive tech ventures. We have been impressed by Sohil and Parini and look forward to working with the entire team at Zero Cow Factory to bring lab-grown dairy products to the masses."