Integriculture Accelerates Creation of New Industry with "Cellular Agriculture" with Support from 7 Companies

Integriculture Inc. (Head Office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representatives: Yuki Hanyu, Kazuo Kawashima; hereinafter "the Company"), which aims to become a global company by promoting the social implementation of "cellular agriculture for everyone (*)", has completed fundraising from the following seven companies: Hiroshima Incubation & Capital Inc. (Head Office: Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Representative: Kikunori Takiue), Hiroshima Venture Capital Inc. (Head Office: Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Representative: Masashi Nishioka), Daiwa Can Company Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroyasu Yamaguchi), Hakuhodo DY Ventures Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshio Akimoto), Yamanashi Chugin Management Consulting Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Representative: Fumikane Irino), Hamano Products Ltd. (Head Office: Sumida-ku, Tokyo; Representative CEO: Keiichi Hamano), and Leave a Nest Capital Inc. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Masahiro Ikegami).

(*) Cellular agriculture: Technology and industry that produces useful resources such as cosmetics, cellular foods, and materials by culturing a small amount of cells collected from living organisms.

These companies have participated in this funding round based on their evaluation and expectations of our future potential and technological superiority as a "cellular agriculture infrastructure platformer," primarily focusing on the following three points:

1. Superiority of proprietary technology "CulNet® System" and its driving force for social implementation

We were recognized for our proprietary technology that significantly reduces cellular culture costs, a traditional challenge, and our business development capabilities that are steadily advancing towards mass production and social implementation through the development of bioreactors, rather than confining it to the laboratory.

2. Potential as a "Cellular Agriculture Infrastructure Platform" expanding into diverse industrial fields

We received expectations for our high scalability as a production base (infrastructure) supporting diverse lifestyles, including cosmetic ingredients, cellular foods, new materials, and healthcare.

3. "Co-creation Partnership" pioneering a new industrial ecosystem

We resonated with the potential to build a cellular agriculture ecosystem on a global scale, originating from Japan, through strong collaboration with partner companies who are top runners in their respective fields, such as containers, manufacturing, marketing, and regional finance.

The funds raised this time will be allocated to the following purposes:

[Business Expansion] Product development in the cosmetics field We will accelerate raw material development and product commercialization in the cosmetics sector to achieve early monetization and expand recognition.

[Regional Revitalization] Expansion of cellular agriculture implementation network connecting various regions of Japan By partnering with financial institutions and businesses promoting local innovation, we will expand the implementation of cellular agriculture technology across Japan and contribute to the realization of sustainable local communities.

[Market Development] Acquisition of new customers (B2B partners) accompanying the creation of new markets We will strengthen our sales organization to increase users of the cellular agriculture infrastructure platform. We will promote customer development with companies in diverse industrial fields to co-create new value. [Technological Innovation] Strengthening in-house R&D for "accessible to everyone" infrastructure technology We will thoroughly refine our proprietary technology towards the commoditization (normalization) of cellular agriculture.

With this support, we aim to become a world-leading company as a pioneer in cellular agriculture.

Message from Yuki Hanyu, Representative Director and CEO of Integriculture Inc.

In Japan, Cell-Agri Cosme® is becoming widely available, and significant progress is being made in establishing rules for cellular foods. Meanwhile, overseas, as the focus shifts from technical demonstration to business demonstration, various ups and downs are occurring, indicating that cellular agriculture is at a critical inflection point. For our company as well, the moment has arrived for "cellular agriculture for everyone" to be launched as a full-stack infrastructure. I am deeply grateful to be able to walk this path together at this moment.

Message from Kazuo Kawashima, Representative Director and CTO of Integriculture Inc.

The technology of cellular agriculture itself is moving beyond the demonstration phase. The next challenge is to make cellular agriculture "accessible to everyone." What we aim for is to become something like the "power grid" for cellular agriculture. When electricity became widespread, it wasn't the power generation technology itself that changed the world, but the establishment of an infrastructure that allowed everyone to use electricity simply by plugging it into an outlet. My mission is to make our technology base, centered on the CulNet® System, an infrastructure that can be used in all fields, from sake breweries to cosmetic factories.

The seven companies that have invested this time are precisely those who will be responsible for the "outlets" of this infrastructure, covering containers, marketing, regional finance, and manufacturing. We will liberate technology from the laboratory and deliver cellular agriculture, connected with regional resources from Hiroshima and other areas to Singapore, to customers throughout Japan and the world.

Message from Takuma Oe, Senior Manager at Hiroshima Incubation & Capital Inc. / Hiroshima Venture Capital Inc.

The future is not something to wait for, but something to create—we are delighted to be able to join Integriculture's challenge. In a few decades, the name of this company may be found in textbooks worldwide in an era where "cellular agriculture is commonplace." It is with such expectations that we decided to invest. The company is not merely developing cultured meat (**), but aims to foster cellular agriculture into an industrial infrastructure that everyone can utilize. We strongly resonate with the grand vision and the technological capabilities and business development expertise accumulated to realize it. The company also has deep connections with technology and human resources originating from Hiroshima University and is working to form a cellular agriculture ecosystem based in Hiroshima. We expect the company's innovative challenge to lead to the creation of new industries and accelerate regional innovation, and we will fully support its future growth.

(**) Cultured meat: Food ingredient produced using cell culture technology, with cells extracted from animal individuals, etc., as raw materials. It may also be referred to as cell-cultured food or cellular food. The same applies below.

Message from Rei Nagashima, Director of the Advanced Technology Research Laboratory at Daiwa Can Company Ltd.

We have continued our co-creation with Integriculture through the CulNet® Consortium, hosted by Integriculture.

In an era of climate change and resource depletion, where the state of food is also changing, we are convinced that the mission advocated by the company, "Development and dissemination of cellular agriculture infrastructure," holds the key to solving these challenges. Furthermore, from the driving force towards infrastructure product sales and cosmetic sales centered on cellular agriculture, we see the potential to realize a sustainable future.

By combining the technological strengths of both companies—our knowledge and solutions gained from the food metal container business and Integriculture's excellent cell culture technology—we expect to add new value to cellular agriculture products and greatly expand their possibilities.

Through this challenge, we aim to realize the development of cellular agriculture technology and expand social recognition, and together carve out a new era towards the creation of a sustainable society.

Message from Nosuke Urushiyama, Vice President COO and Managing Partner at Hakuhodo DY Ventures Inc.

Integriculture is an extremely significant startup that, starting with cell culture technology, opens up new possibilities in diverse industrial fields such as food, healthcare, and materials. The "cellular agriculture" the company is pursuing not only addresses sustainable food production and resource constraints but also has the potential to significantly change the values and lifestyles of consumers in the future.

Hakuhodo DY Ventures highly values the company's advanced technological capabilities, as well as its drive to achieve social implementation through collaboration with industrial partners, rather than being confined to R&D. We have great expectations that, with this funding round as an opportunity, Integriculture will pioneer a new industrial ecosystem globally as a cellular agriculture platform originating from Japan.

We, too, will continue to support the company's challenge by leveraging the consumer-centric approach, brand building, and communication expertise of the Hakuhodo DY Group.

Message from Fumikane Irino, Representative Director at Yamanashi Chugin Management Consulting Co., Ltd.

Expectations are rising for "cellular agriculture" as a next-generation food production technology to address the impending protein crisis due to population growth and to reduce the environmental impact of livestock farming. Integriculture possesses the proprietary technology "CulNet® System," which allows for inexpensive and large-scale cell cultivation without using growth factors (such as serum), which were the biggest cost factor in conventional cell culture. This technology not only significantly lowers the production cost of cultured meat but can also be applied to diverse industries such as cosmetic ingredients and new material development. We have decided to invest due to our strong resonance with the company's overwhelming technological superiority and its vision of creating a sustainable future. We are very pleased to be able to work alongside the excellent management and research team, including Representative Director Hanyu, towards realizing a future where cellular agriculture becomes commonplace.

Message from Keiichi Hamano, Representative Director and Chairman, and Ryo Kobayashi, Director and President, at Hamano Products Ltd.

We sincerely congratulate Integriculture on its fundraising.

As a factory challenging this grand concept of cellular agriculture, we have been jointly promoting the development of novel bioreactors for manufacturing cultured meat.

To tackle this unknown territory, we have dispatched transformative personnel from our company, and they are dedicating themselves to daily development with the resolve to live and breathe the work.

With this funding, we greatly anticipate further strengthening our mass production system and accelerating our progress towards social implementation.

Furthermore, this company represents our company's memorable "First Investment Case," and we will continue to "creatively innovate" with the same commitment as if our company's fate were tied to it.

Message from Yusuke Shinozawa, Director at Leave a Nest Capital Inc.

The deciding factor for this partnership is the collaboration in the increasingly full-scale sales of cellular agriculture products. Cellular agriculture has moved beyond the conceptual stage, and concrete products are emerging. In addition to the cosmetics field where Integriculture is already leading, products such as food ingredients and manufacturing infrastructure are being added. Leave a Nest will promote the creation of knowledge to utilize this product lineup, the creation of "sustainable food culture" with regional companies, and the incorporation of the global momentum in cellular agriculture.

【About Integriculture Inc.】

Integriculture Inc., with its vision of "cellular agriculture for everyone," aims to popularize and develop a cellular agriculture infrastructure platform accessible to all. The company challenges the creation of new regional businesses, such as cosmetics, cellular products, and materials, utilizing local resources like famous waters from various regions. Through this, it contributes to the realization of a sustainable food future and an affluent society. Main Office: Shonan Health Innovation Park A32F-3111, 2-26-1 Muroka Higashi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Web https://integriculture.com/ X Official Account @integri_culture

【Contact for Inquiries Regarding This Matter】

Integriculture Inc. Public Relations

Email: [email protected]

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