SAMSUNG Welstory and startup accelerator FuturePlay discover and support promising startups in the field of sustainable future food technologies through the program. Over the course of 20 weeks, TissenBioFarm will participate in an accelerating program jointly provided by SAMSUNG Welstory and FuturePlay. Follow-up collaboration projects and strategic investments may occur depending on Samsung’s strategic initiatives.

Cultivated meat is a type of alternative protein that has recently been in the spotlight. It is a new technology that makes meat by growing animal cells outside the animal body, which eliminates the need to raise and slaughter livestock. It is considered a sustainable solution to many problems of industrial animal farming. Those include but are not limited to 1) environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and land devastation, 2) public health risks such as antibiotics and zoonotic diseases, and 3) animal welfare problems caused by poor breeding environments.

SAMSUNG Welstory is a food service and distribution arm of SAMSUNG Group. It has the ambition to promote cooperation with startups with its 40 years of food business capabilities and know-how. In line with the direction of pursuing ESG management, it selected startups contributing to sustainable food systems through a rigorous verification process. SAMSUNG Welstory has demonstrated great efforts for ESG management by publishing an ESG report for the first time in the Korean food distribution industry in 2021 and expanding the application of food upcycling in 2023.

TissenBioFarm is a food technology startup that started from a tissue engineering lab of POSTECH, Korea’s top-tier research university. It has developed eco-friendly and high-quality cultivated meat using cutting-edge biotechnologies and engineering expertise. It has drawn attention by offering solutions that have overcome the industry’s technical limitations such as mass production, whole-cut, meat texture, and marbling. It has developed the world's first technology to mass-produce whole-cut cultivated meat with realistic marbles.

Wonil Han, CEO of TissenBioFarm, said, “By participating in the TechUP+ program, we aim to become a global leader in the cultivated meat field by enhancing our technologies and go-to-market strategies. We will pursue sustainable growth based on our groundbreaking proprietary technologies, and provide eco-friendly and sustainable foods to consumers through cooperation with SAMSUNG Welstory.”

TechUP+ is an open innovation program in which startup accelerator FuturePlay discovers, supports, and invests in excellent early-stage startups with big corporations. In this SAMSUNG Welstory TechUP+ program, two companies were selected through the evaluation of their technological competitiveness and business potential. FuturePlay is in charge of planning and operating the program, selecting and nurturing startups, and developing patents; while SAMSUNG Welstory provides the budget necessary for program operation, mentoring, in-house infrastructure, and follow-up investment.