# Arborea: Food production, London, United Kingdom

> Arborea: Arborea is a London-based biotechnology company founded in 2015, focused on industrializing photosynthesis to produce sustainable food ingredients.

Source: https://millionrounds.com/startup/arborea (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article)

United Kingdom · [Food production startup](https://millionrounds.com/companies)

# Arborea

Arborea is a London-based biotechnology company founded in 2015, focused on industrializing photosynthesis to produce sustainable food ingredients.

Funding reported Last round: Grant

Food production London, United Kingdom

Company summary

- **Founded:** 2015 11 years old
- **Team:** 56 51 to 200 people
- **Funding reported:** 8.8M as listed, currency not stated
- **Last round:** Grant Oct 2021

How sure we are

- ✓ **Listed** We know it exists and what it does
- 2 **Funding reported** A company dataset reports a raise
- 3 **Observed** A filing or a dated announcement confirms a round

No round for Arborea has been confirmed by a filing or an announcement yet, so nothing here counts toward an investor's record. [How we decide](https://millionrounds.com/methodology)

## About Arborea

Arborea is a London-based biotechnology company founded in 2015, focused on industrializing photosynthesis to produce sustainable food ingredients.

The company’s mission is to enhance the global food supply by utilizing advanced organic cultivation systems that harness nature's power. Arborea has developed the BioSolar LeafTM, a unique cultivation system that mimics the mechanisms of a real leaf, allowing for the growth of microalgae using sunlight and carbon dioxide. The company offers a range of natural, sustainable ingredients for various industries, including food, feed, petcare, and cosmetics. Their flagship product, NOvo ProteinTM, is a plant-based, net-zero protein suitable for bakery and alternative dairy and meat products. Arborea also provides functional ingredients like Pure BlueTM natural colorants and essential nutrients derived from microalgae. Their innovative Bionic Chandelier system purifies indoor air by absorbing CO2 and producing oxygen. Arborea's products are vegan, non-GMO, and clean label, aligning with their commitment to climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation.

## What company datasets say Arborea raised

Funding, as reported

Reported in all **8.8M** in the source's currency

Rounds **4**

Last round **Grant**

Last round size **5.5M**

Last round date **Oct 2021**

Investors listed **6**

## Funding filed with regulators

Arborea filed 2 raises, $6.1M in all. Filings say how much was sold and to how many investors; they never name the investors.

- Jan 2023 **$1.6M** UK share allotment
- Jul 2021 **$4.5M** UK share allotment

## Founders and team

From Arborea's own website: 1 founder, 9 on the team.

**Julian Melchiorri** Founder & CEO

- **Joana da Silva** Head of Biotechnology
- **Joao Nunes** Head of Automation
- **Ian Kegler** Lead Design Engineer
- **Jasper Noriel** Finance Director
- **Joao Rebelo** Associate Scientist – Product Development
- **Kaly Chatakondu** Global Commercial Director
- **Kelly Diaz** Accounting Analyst
- **Lucas Cardoso** Associate Scientist - Biotechnology
- **Miguel Rodrigues** R&D Site Manager

## On 2 portfolio pages

Investors who name them

- [StartLife](https://millionrounds.com/fund/startlife)
- [Mudcake](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mudcake)

Each firm lists Arborea on its own website. That is the firm's claim, a weaker thing than a round we watched, but a named source.

## The company, in detail

What they build

Known for

microalgae bioactive nutrients clean-label ingredients consumers pet care distribution manufacturing microalgae bioactive compounds co2 utilization agriculture carbon-negative biomass industrial biotechnology net-zero ingredients cosmetics food production sustainable protein b2b

Built with from their website

Yoast SEO CloudFlare CDN Contact Form 7 CAPTCHA WordPress.org Spectro Microsoft Exchange Microsoft 365 Cloudflare Bot Management MySQL

+8 more

PrimeNG Google Workspace Outlook reCAPTCHA CloudFlare Microsoft 365 Apps & Services PHP Viewport Meta

- **Sector:** Food production
- **Industry code:** NAICS 31111, 311999, 541714, SIC 2834
- **Region:** England
- **Full record:** [Every detail in the company directory](https://millionrounds.com/directory/arborea)

## Food production in United Kingdom

Startups like it

- [**Meatly** London · founded 2022 *Raised*](https://millionrounds.com/company/meatly)
- [**MicroLub** Leeds · founded 2023 *Raised*](https://millionrounds.com/company/microlub)
- [**Sundrop Farms** London · founded 2009](https://millionrounds.com/startup/sundrop-farms)
- [**The Supplant Company** Cambridge · founded 2018](https://millionrounds.com/startup/the-supplant-company)
- [**Ivy Farm Technologies** Oxford · founded 2019](https://millionrounds.com/startup/ivy-farm-technologies)
- [**Better Dairy** London · founded 2019](https://millionrounds.com/startup/better-dairy)
- [**Zya** London · founded 2018](https://millionrounds.com/startup/zya)
- [**Little Dish** London · founded 2006](https://millionrounds.com/startup/little-dish)

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