MOA Foodtech
EMEA
,
Spain
Scaleup
FOUNDED
HEADCOUNT
21-100
FUNDING
Series A
Keywords:
yeast, fermentation, AI/ML, waste_valorization, single_cell_protein, food_protein, alternative_proteins
BUSINESS
Uses AI-driven biotechnology and fermentation to convert agri-food byproducts into functional proteins and ingredients. MOA Foodtech, founded in 2020 in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, produces microbial protein ingredients from agri-food side streams using biomass fermentation combined with an AI platform (Albatros) that selects microorganisms and optimizes fermentation conditions for variable feedstocks. Customers and development partners include Barilla, Nestlé, and Sigma, with reported totals of 27 pilot projects and 5 license agreements.
BIOTECH INVOLVEMENT
Core biotechnology combining AI predictive modeling with microbial fermentation for upcycled proteins. MOA Foodtech operates a biomass fermentation platform using non-GMO yeast strains grown on agri-food side-stream feedstocks (including distillers' grains, crop residues, sugar industry byproducts, and cellulose-rich materials). The first commercial ingredient is yeast biomass with approximately 50% protein and 35% fiber; a second ingredient uses the same biomass with modified downstream processing to deliver gelling and emulsifying functionality. The AI platform adjusts culture media composition to maintain conversion rates across variable feedstock compositions, and the company positions its approach as biomass rather than precision fermentation.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
AI predictive fermentation; microbial biomass production
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
MOA YEAST; MOA Q5 functional protein ingredients