Verley secures $38m to scale precision-fermented BLG and prepare US market entry

French precision fermentation startup Verley has raised €32 million ($38 million) in a Series A round as it prepares to enter the US market later this year, aiming to scale production of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), a whey protein made without cows. The funding, reported by AgFunderNews, supports technology scale-up, regulatory approvals, and commercialization at a time when demand for high-protein products continues to grow.

The round includes €25 million in equity from Alven, Blast, Sofinnova, Sparkfood and Founders Future, along with €7 million in non-dilutive support from French national investment bank Bpifrance.

Verley, founded in late 2021 by Stéphane Mac Millan and Hélène Briand under the name Bon Vivant, produces BLG via precision fermentation using a strain of Aspergillus oryzae. The company has already secured a GRAS “no questions” letter from the US Food and Drug Administration and is preparing regulatory submissions in the European Union and the Middle East.

The capital injection comes as protein consumption trends accelerate in the United States, driven by wider use of GLP-1 drugs and updated dietary guidelines that recommend significantly higher protein intake. At the same time, formulators face supply constraints and price increases for whey protein isolate (WPI), traditionally the mainstay ingredient for protein-enriched foods and beverages.

Mac Millan argues that BLG produced through fermentation addresses functional limitations in existing protein formats. “If you try to pack 25 grams of regular whey protein isolate (WPI) into a protein shot, it won’t work because you will not have the solubility you need,” he said. “Same thing for high protein yogurt. Once you go beyond 9% protein, the texture can be super sandy. With our microparticulated BLG we can get to a 15-16% inclusion rate.”

“So for these kinds of applications, we’re not really in competition with WPI, we’re complementary, we’re opening doors and unlocking new possibilities.”

Verley currently offers three BLG-based ingredients to food manufacturers: a native lactose-free BLG for sports nutrition and clear beverages; FermWhey MicroStab, a micro-particulated protein designed for heat and acid stability in UHT drinks and high-protein dairy; and FermWhey Gel, which provides gelling properties that can replace stabilizers and gums in formulations.

Scaling production and improving economics

The company is operating at a 50 cubic meter fermentation scale and aims to exceed 150 cubic meters as it prepares for commercial supply in the United States. According to Mac Millan, Verley is in the technology transfer phase and finalizing scale-up with co-manufacturers.

“We’re at the 50 cubic meter (50,000-L) stage of production but need to go above 150 cubic meters,” he said. “We are in the tech transfer stage and finalizing scale up with co-manufacturers. If everything goes well, we should be able to start [supplying US customers with commercial quantities] in Q3 or Q4 of this year.”

The startup reports progress in fermentation efficiency and cost metrics, which has strengthened investor confidence in the current funding environment.

“We are ahead of our R&D plan in terms of getting the [efficiency metrics] numbers, which is one of the reasons we have been able to raise this round,” Mac Millan noted. He added that rising prices for animal-derived whey are narrowing the gap to price parity. “Reaching price parity is getting easier.”

BLG is separated from fermentation biomass through filtration and concentrated in a second step. The company highlights its leucine content, an amino acid associated with muscle recovery, as a functional advantage. Gram for gram, pure BLG delivers slightly more leucine than traditional whey protein isolate.

From ingredient to branded protein

Verley also observes a shift in how food brands approach labeling. When the company launched, BLG was largely unknown to consumers. That dynamic is changing.

“Some consumers are now super well educated about BLG and leucine,” Mac Millan said, suggesting that brands increasingly view BLG as a differentiated ingredient rather than a commodity protein.

The fundraising comes amid a more disciplined climate for foodtech investment. “We are past the time of exuberance for foodtech investing but investors can see that the potential for offtake [agreements] is enormous,” he said. “That said, you have to be able to tick the boxes on technology readiness, regulatory, and scaling.”

If Verley begins commercial shipments in the second half of the year as planned, it will mark less than five years from founding to market entry—an accelerated timeline for a precision fermentation venture.