Perfect Day set for IPO after raising a further $350m

A foodtech company that began in Cork has raised a further $350 million to bring its lab-developed animal-free dairy products to market.

This takes to $750 million the amount Perfect Day has secured in investment since participating in Sean O'Sullivan's RebelBio accelerator programme in Cork city in 2015.

Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board co-led the Series D funding round, with other backers including Disney executive chairman Robert Iger. The latest investment values Perfect Day at $1.5 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Perfect Day (formerly Muufri) is planning an initial public offering (IPO) over the next 12 months.

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Product

San Francisco-headquartered Perfect Day has developed a synthetic product that uses bioengineered yeast which, through fermentation, produces a protein that is genetically identical to dairy protein. Foods developed using the protein have the same nutrition, texture and taste of conventional dairy products.

The company was only founded when Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi came together to apply for RebelBio, the world's first life sciences accelerator programme set up by Mr O'Sullivan's venture capital firm, SOSV.

The start-up was part of the first cohort of companies selected to take part in the accelerator, receiving about $50,000 (€43,000) in seed funding, lab space at University College Cork, and guidance from entrepreneurs including Mr O'Sullivan and CoderDojo co-founder and SOSV partner Bill Liao.

The company’s founders made headlines around the world at the time when they announced plans for a cow-free milk product, while participating on RebelBio. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year gave its approval for Perfect Day’s proprietary whey protein.