alt proteins and VC funding

In its infancy, much of the sector focused on plant-based CPG products
Timelines to bring those products to market were a reasonably good fit with VC expectations. The risk was often moderate, early consumer adoption was promising, and there was demonstrated interest from retail and foodservice
As alternative protein food and ingredient startups mature, it is now clear that traditional pools of capital will become insufficient for timely commercialization.
VC timelines and expectations are often not well-aligned with those of advanced precision fermentation and cultivated meat companies, as those startups can take longer to deliver returns than less technologically complex ventures (i.e., plant-based CPG startups). Private equity favors established companies with track records of steady cash flows. And commercial banks are typically too risk-averse to provide loans for cutting-edge alternative protein innovation.
A study by GFI concluded that the plant-based meat industry alone will require $27 billion in cumulative capital spending by 2030 to garner just a 6% share of animal products. This would need to be supplemented with $17 billion in annual operating costs
This is to say nothing of requirements for fermentation and cultivated products, likely to be even higher.

BSG, 2022: Venture capital in alternative proteins grew from $1 billion in 2019 to $5 billion in 2021. Investment in fermentation-based and animal-cell-based technologies saw significant rises of 137% and 425%, respectively.