Liberation Labs secures strategic partnership
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
Liberation Labs secures strategic partnership with NEOM Investment Fund
Agronomics (LSE: ANIC), a leading listed company in the field of clean food, is delighted to announce that its portfolio company, Liberation Labs Holdings Inc ("Liberation Labs"), has reported a strategic partnership with NEOM Investment Fund ("NIF") to help develop a precision-fermentation facility in Saudi Arabia. This partnership follows NEOM's participation in Liberation Lab's US$ 50.5 million fundraise announced on 30 January 2025.
The partnership will set the foundation for Liberation Labs to support Topian, NEOM's dedicated food company, in designing and developing an advanced precision-fermentation facility in the Kingdom. To begin with, Liberation Labs has been commissioned to develop a feasibility study, which will provide a clearer assessment of the location, timeline for the design, construction, and launch of the facility. Once completed, further milestones will be announced to the market.
Liberation Labs develops and operates purpose-built biomanufacturing facilities that utilise precision fermentation to produce basic food ingredients. The process offers a scalable and sustainable solution to traditional food production methods and can be used to produce high-value proteins without the need for animals.
Liberation Labs aims to establish itself as the global fabrication partner for the industrial biotechnology sector through the design, construction and operation of Bio3, its purpose-built biomanufacturing platform. This platform will seek to address the critical bottleneck in capacity which fermentation companies are currently facing. Liberation Labs broke ground on its first facility in June 2023 in Richmond, Indiana and when complete, will have 600,000 litres of fermentation capacity. The project continues to make significant progress with its build programme and expects to have the facility complete by the end of this calendar year. Liberation Labs already has Letters Of Intent representing over 200% of the available capacity for the first 5 years of the Richmond facility's operations.
To date Agronomics has invested a total of US$ 27 million (c.£21.9 million) in Liberation Labs which, subject to audit, is currently carried at £34.1 million. This position represents c.23% of Agronomics' last stated Net Asset Value as at 31 December 2024.
Jim Mellon, Executive Chair of Agronomics, and Chair of Liberation Labs, said: "Investing in clean food infrastructure supports both national priorities and transformational initiatives. NEOM, as a giga-project redefining the future of living and food systems within the Kingdom, is a powerful example. Such initiatives bolster Saudi Arabia's food security, creating resilient food systems which can meet the demands of consumers and protect itself against the threat of climate change. The Kingdom is taking bold steps to lead in this emerging industry, and we are delighted to see Liberation Labs at the forefront of delivering this project."
Majid Mufti, CEO of NIF, commented: "This strategic partnership marks an important step on NEOM's journey to become a global hub for industrial-scale sustainable food production. Liberation Labs' expertise in precision fermentation and biomanufacturing will advance the establishment of NEOM as a leader in the biomanufacturing space, catalyzing the adoption of advanced food technologies and reshaping the food systems of tomorrow."
Mark Warner, Co-Founder and CEO of Liberation Labs, said: "The development of our first site in the Middle East, in partnership with NIF and Topian, is an incredible opportunity to blend our purpose-built biomanufacturing with their purpose-driven organizations. We look forward to collaborating to redefine the future of food production."
Dr Juan Carlos Motamayor, CEO of Topian, added, "At Topian, we are transforming food systems to meet the needs of a growing population and a changing climate. The establishment of this advanced biomanufacturing facility will enable us to produce key food ingredients and high-quality alternative proteins efficiently and sustainably. This investment will not only help reduce food imports and improve food security but will also create new economic opportunities and high-skilled jobs, giving the Kingdom a competitive advantage in the dynamic, high-value novel-food sector."
-ends-
About NEOM Investment Fund ("NIF")
NEOM Investment Fund is the strategic investment arm of NEOM, accelerating the growth of its 15 knowledge-economy sectors. As the key enabler of NEOM's commercial success, NIF is prioritizing investments that unlock next-generation industries to turn NEOM's visionary goals into reality. NIF partners with likeminded innovative companies, investors, and entrepreneurs that are working on solving the world's most complex problems.
About NEOM
NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory - a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and reinventing environmental conservation.
NEOM will include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.
For further information email media@neom.com or visit www.neom.com and www.neom.com/en-us/newsroom.
About Liberation Labs
Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a global network of purpose-built manufacturing facilities that enable the next wave of biotechnology advancements to produce bio-based consumer products at scale. We combine modern technology with fit-for-purpose design to bring reliable and cost-effective solutions that meet customer demand across the world. More information is available at www.liberationlabs.com.
About Agronomics
Agronomics is a leading London-listed company focusing on investment opportunities within the field of clean food. The Company has established a portfolio of over 20 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to invest in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a focus on products historically derived from animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and animals and improve food security for the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/.
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