Aleph Farms and BioRaptor Launch AI-Powered Collaboration to Strengthen Efficiency in Cultivated Meat Production 

Integrating BioRaptor’s unique AI operating system into Aleph Farms’ process development aims to advance scalability and reduce costs in the production of Aleph Cuts amidst preparation for large-scale plants

Both BioRaptor and Aleph Farms will participate in panels about AI and cellular agriculture, respectively, at the SynBioBeta conference in San Jose on May 6-9, 2024

Rehovot, Israel – Aleph Farms, a cellular agriculture leader and the first and only company to receive regulatory approval for cultivated beef, and BioRaptor, pioneers in streamlining and optimizing biotech processes through data and AI, announced a partnership aimed at further optimizing Aleph’s production process and de-risking its scale-up as it transitions to large-scale facilities with extensive capital expenditures. Through this partnership, AI will complement human intelligence in the collection and analysis of large data generated throughout Aleph’s process development for cultivated meat production.

Cultivated meat originates from animal cell cultures and is grown in cultivators that provide controlled, clean, and closed environments where cells can thrive. These cultivators continuously feed the cells with nutrients and are monitored for various process parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Understanding the relationship between the cell feed and the cell environment is key to defining the most optimal conditions for cell growth. 

“There are massive amounts of data created during the development of state-of-the-art production bioprocesses, which, when extracted, interpreted, and collected into actionable insights, can boost productivity and reduce costs, time, and human error. This is exactly our plan with Aleph Farms,” said Ori Zakin, CEO and Co-Founder of BioRaptor. “By simplifying bioprocess data management and suggesting optimal experimental design, we can enable smoother technological developments for the processes that the cellular agriculture industry has been pioneering.”

The integration of BioRaptor’s solution into Aleph Farms’ process development allows the latter’s R&D team to collect data as it is generated across various experiments, extrapolating both real-time and historic data concurrently. It allows cross-experimental findings to be smoothly evaluated and for the results to be configured on a single platform. The ability to review past and present data and make projections that enhance experiments makes the process scale-up more efficient and less cost-intensive.

“Our team’s scientific expertise in design of experiment (DoE) methodology and statistical analysis, complemented by BioRaptor’s AI-driven solution, will allow us to better understand the interactions between various process inputs and conditions,” said Dr. Sagit Shalel-Levanon, Senior Director of Process Development at Aleph Farms. “With the large data we generate, this capability could accelerate the development of robust and scalable processes for cultivated meat production.”

“Deploying BioRaptor’s most advanced AI and machine learning solution into our R&D will provide additional support for our team to optimize processes for cost and scalability, laying a solid groundwork for our mid- to large-scale production. Our approach is to build the right foundations as we grow and avoid massive capital expenditure before our process is fully ready for scale,” said Dr. Neta Lavon, CTO and Co-Founder of Aleph Farms. “We are investing time and resources to implement the most advanced tools into our differentiated technology platform and its various applications in food and beyond, thereby realizing the full potential of cellular agriculture in the burgeoning bioeconomy.”

About Aleph Farms

Aleph Farms is a cellular agriculture company focused on cultivating high-quality products from cow cells. Headquartered in Israel, Aleph grows cultivated beef steaks, offering unique culinary experiences while enhancing sustainability, food security and animal welfare. In December 2023, the company received regulatory approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health for its cultivated Petit Steak, grown from non-modified cells of premium Black Angus cows. Aleph Farms markets the steak under its product brand, Aleph Cuts.

Established in 2017, Aleph Farms plays a pivotal role in the bioeconomy by diversifying the supply and decentralizing the production of quality animal proteins and fats as a complement to sustainable methods of conventional animal agriculture. The company unveiled the world’s first cultivated thin-cut beef steak in 2018, the world’s first cultivated ribeye steak in 2021, and cultivated collagen in 2022.

For its contributions to climate leadership, including a net zero commitment made in 2020, Aleph Farms has received top accolades from the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. It is backed by top corporate partners and financial institutions, as well as state-backed sovereign funds in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

For more information, follow Aleph Cuts on Instagram and Facebook, Aleph Farms on Twitter and Linkedin, or visit www.aleph-farms.com. Access our press kit      here.

About BioRaptor

BioRaptor’s AI-driven software platform empowers biopharma, biotech, and food-tech firms to accelerate R&D and production. Leveraging a company’s historic and real-time data, BioRaptor provides predictive analysis and actionable insights, helping scientists discover, develop, and scale the processes that put vital foods and pharma products onto the shelves and into the hands of people who need them. Founded in 2021, BioRaptor’s experienced multidisciplinary team consists of leaders in the fields of pharma, medicine, biology, data engineering, and cybersecurity.