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Impossible Foods Valuation, Funding & Investors
Impossible Foods is valued at $4B as of August 2020.
Last Impossible Foods valuation
$4B
Series G · Aug 2020
Last Impossible Foods funding round
$500M
Series H · Nov 2021
Cumulative funding Impossible Foods raised
$1.9B
across 11 funding rounds
Key investors in Impossible Foods
Khosla Ventures
Temasek
Horizons Ventures
Bill Gates
Mirae Asset
GV
About Impossible Foods
Impossible Foods is a Redwood City, California food-technology company that makes plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy from plant proteins. It was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, a Stanford University biochemistry professor, and launched its first product, the Impossible Burger, in July 2016; the burger uses soy leghemoglobin ("heme"), produced by a genetically engineered yeast through fermentation, to mimic the taste of beef. The range has since expanded to sausage and pork, chicken and other plant-based products. In November 2021 the company said its products were sold in about 22,000 grocery stores, up from 150 in March 2020, and in close to 40,000 restaurants worldwide. It earns revenue from product sales to retailers, restaurant chains and foodservice distributors and has not published its revenue. Impossible Foods has raised close to $2 billion from investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, GV, Horizons Ventures, Temasek, Mirae Asset and Coatue, and Reuters noted it was last valued at about $4 billion in its 2020 funding round.
Founded
2011
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$4B (Aug 2020)
Impossible Foods Valuation
Impossible Foods is currently valued at $4B, based on its Series G in August 2020. Read the announcement ↗
The $200M round was led by Coatue, with participation from Temasek, XN and Mirae Asset.
Impossible Foods' valuation has grown 2.0x from $2B at its Series E in May 2019 to $4B in August 2020, across 3 priced rounds.
Impossible Foods valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2020 | Series G | $4B |
| Mar 2020 | Series F | $4B |
| May 2019 | Series E | $2B |
Impossible Foods Funding History
Impossible Foods has raised a total of $1.9B across 11 funding rounds.
Impossible Foods' first fundraising round was a $6M Series A in September 2011. The most recent completed round was a $500M Series H in November 2021.
Impossible Foods funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2021 | Series H | Mirae Asset (lead) | $500M | - | Impossible Foods raised approximately $500 million in a funding round announced on 23 November 2021 and led by existing investor Mirae Asset Global Investments, with participation from other existing investors; Reuters lists Bill Gates, GV, UBS, Coatue, Khosla Ventures and Temasek among the company's backers. The company did not disclose a valuation, and Reuters noted it had been valued at about $4 billion in its 2020 fundraise. The round took total funding to close to $2 billion since 2011. Impossible said its products were in about 22,000 grocery stores, up from 150 in March 2020, and in close to 40,000 restaurants globally, and that the money would support retail growth, supply chain, product portfolio, technology platforms and international expansion. Reuters had reported in April 2021 that the Redwood City, California company was exploring a US listing at a valuation of $10 billion or more. Earlier rounds included $500 million in March 2020 led by Mirae Asset and $200 million in August 2020 led by Coatue. |
| Aug 2020 | Series G | Coatue (lead); Temasek; XN; Mirae Asset | $200M | $4B | Impossible Foods, a Silicon Valley-based food technology company, closed a Series G funding round of $200 million in August 2020 led by hedge fund Coatue Management, with participation from XN, Mirae Asset Global Investments, and Temasek. The round valued the company at $4 billion according to PrimeUnicorn Index tracking. This brought the company's total funding to approximately $1.5 billion since its 2011 founding. Impossible Foods is known for its plant-based meat alternatives, with its flagship product being the Impossible Burger. The company had dramatically expanded its retail presence, growing from 150 grocery store locations in March 2020 to over 8,000 stores across all 50 states by August 2020, driven by significant demand shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also launched Impossible Sausage and was developing additional products including plant-based pork, steak, and milk. The Series G proceeds were designated for expanding research and development, accelerating manufacturing capacity, increasing international market presence, and developing next-generation plant-based products. Impossible Foods had quadrupled production capacity at its Oakland, California facility and partnered with food manufacturer OSI Group to support surging consumer demand for plant-based protein alternatives. |
| Mar 2020 | Series F | Mirae Asset (lead); Temasek; Khosla Ventures; Horizons Ventures | $500M | $4B | Impossible Foods, a Redwood City, California-based food tech company, develops plant-based meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger, Sausage, Pork, Chicken Nuggets, and Meatballs that mimic animal products while reducing environmental impact. The company confirmed approximately $500 million in new funding on March 16, 2020, led by Mirae Asset Global Investments with participation from existing investors including Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Temasek, bringing total funding since 2011 to nearly $1.3 billion. This Series F round followed product launches at CES 2020 and aimed to fund fundamental research, innovation, retail expansion, and commercialization of next-generation products amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding enabled Impossible Foods to accelerate growth in a volatile market, prioritizing employee safety measures and scaling production after quadrupling output at its Oakland plant the prior year. It entered partnerships like with OSI Group and cut distributor prices by 15% to compete with beef. At the time, products were in limited retail (150 U.S. stores by March 2020) and select international markets including Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, with Asia as a key expansion focus highlighted by Mirae Asset's involvement. This round preceded a $200 million Series G in August 2020 led by Coatue at an estimated $4 billion valuation and another $500 million in 2021 again led by Mirae. By late 2021, products reached 22,000 grocery stores (from 150 in March 2020) and 40,000 restaurants, with IRI data showing it as the fastest-growing plant-based meat company in U.S. retail, outpacing the next 10 competitors combined in dollar sales growth. |
| May 2019 | Series E | Horizons Ventures (lead); Temasek (lead) | $300M | $2B | Impossible Foods, a Redwood City, Calif.-based food-tech startup founded in 2011 by Stanford biochemistry professor Patrick Brown, develops plant-based meat substitutes like the Impossible Burger to eliminate the need for animals in the food chain by 2035. The company announced a $300 million Series E funding round on May 14, 2019, led by existing investors Temasek and Horizons Ventures, bringing total equity funding to over $750 million. Additional backers included celebrities such as Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Serena Williams, and institutions like Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, UBS, and Viking Global Investors. The round aimed to accelerate scaleup, including hiring, adding a third shift and second production line at its Oakland plant, and expanding manufacturing capacity amid surging demand. The funding followed strong product traction, with the Impossible Burger 2.0 winning top prizes at CES 2019 and rolling out nationally at Burger King as the Impossible Whopper, alongside partnerships with Red Robin and Qdoba. Impossible Foods focused on B2B sales to restaurants, differentiating from rival Beyond Meat's consumer grocery emphasis, especially as Beyond Meat's IPO valued it over $3 billion. Demand exceeded plans, causing shortages earlier in 2019, prompting capacity investments to avoid future issues and support small restaurant growth. By late 2019, Impossible Foods sought another $300-400 million round targeting $3-5 billion valuation, more than doubling the prior implied $2 billion mark, amid plant-based protein sector momentum. It expanded to grocery stores that fall while prioritizing production ramps. Total funding reached about $687.5-775 million across rounds, with Asian investors like Temasek and Horizons Ventures eyeing regional protein demand. No IPO occurred immediately, with CFO David Lee emphasizing operational rigor. |
| Apr 2018 | Undisclosed stage | Sailing Capital (lead); Temasek (lead); Blue Horizon Corporation | $114M | - | Impossible Foods, a Redwood City, California-based food technology company founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, develops plant-based meat substitutes, with its flagship Impossible Burger launched in 2016 as a vegan alternative to beef hamburgers using ingredients like wheat protein, potato protein, coconut oil, and heme for meat-like taste. The company announced the closing of approximately $114 million in convertible note financing on April 3, 2018, led by Temasek Holdings and Sailing Capital, with participation from investors like Open Philanthropy Project, Bill Gates, and Horizons Ventures. This round brought total funding since inception to about $396 million, including $214 million raised in the prior 18 months, all as convertible debt to allow conversion at a higher future valuation amid rapid growth. The financing supported rapid expansion in the US and overseas, with the Impossible Burger set to debut in Asia later that month. Previous investors included Khosla Ventures (seed and multiple rounds), Google Ventures, UBS, and Viking Global Investors. Impossible Foods focused on scaling production and commercial adoption, later partnering with Burger King for Impossible Whoppers in 2019 and launching products like Impossible Chicken in 2021. The company raised additional rounds post-2018, including $300 million in 2019 at a $2 billion valuation and $500 million in 2020, reaching over $1.3 billion in total funding. |
| Aug 2017 | Undisclosed stage | Temasek (lead); Next Play Capital; Open Philanthropy; Trinity Capital; Continental Grain Company; Bill Gates; Khosla Ventures; Horizons Ventures | $75M | - | Impossible Foods announced a $75 million funding round in late July 2017, led by Temasek with participation from Open Philanthropy Project and earlier investors Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Horizons Ventures. The company said it would not provide further financial details, and the round brought its total funding to nearly $300 million. The Redwood City, California company, founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, sells the plant-based Impossible Burger, launched in July 2016 and in 2017 available only in select restaurants as it raced to reach grocery shelves. The round followed a $108 million Series D led by UBS in October 2015 and was followed by a $114 million convertible note financing led by Temasek and Sailing Capital in April 2018, which Global AgInvesting reported ahead of the first international launch of the burger. |
| Sep 2015 | Series D | UBS (lead); Li Ka-shing; Bill Gates; Khosla Ventures; Horizons Ventures; Innovative Fund; Viking Global Investors | $108M | - | Impossible Foods, founded in 2011 by Patrick Brown, develops plant-based meat alternatives like burgers made directly from plant ingredients to mimic animal products while reducing environmental impact. The company raised $108 million in its Series D funding round announced on October 7, 2015, led by UBS with participation from Viking Global Investors, Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, and others including Li Ka-shing. This round aimed to provide runway to bring initial products to market and scale production capacity for sustainable meat and dairy foods. The Series D followed earlier rounds including a Series B of $25 million in July 2013 led by Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures to support product development and commercialization. In 2015, Patrick Brown reportedly turned down a $300 million buyout offer, indicating strong early investor confidence. Investors highlighted the potential to transform the global food system by offering delicious, affordable plant-based alternatives using fewer resources than animal agriculture. Subsequent rounds built on this, with total funding reaching over $2.5 billion by 2021 across multiple series. |
| Jun 2014 | Series C | GV; Bill Gates; Khosla Ventures; Horizons Ventures | $40M | - | Impossible Foods raised a $40 million Series C in June 2014 from Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates, the group of backers named when the company emerged from stealth in October 2014 with about $75 million of funding to date. Google invested through its Google Ventures arm, now called GV. The Redwood City, California company was founded in 2011 by Stanford biochemistry professor Patrick O. Brown to make meat and dairy substitutes directly from plants. Most of the cash went into a California facility where it researched which plant proteins could replicate animal-sourced foods such as meat, eggs and cheese, according to Global Venturing. The round followed a $25 million Series B in July 2013 and preceded a $108 million Series D led by UBS in October 2015; the Impossible Burger launched in July 2016. |
| Jul 2013 | Series B | Bill Gates (lead); Khosla Ventures (lead) | $25M | - | Impossible Foods raised a $25 million Series B in July 2013, with Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates among the investors listed in funding-round records. The Redwood City, California company, founded in 2011 by Stanford biochemistry professor Patrick O. Brown, was still operating in stealth and developing plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy from plant proteins. The round followed Series A funding of about $9 million across 2011 and February 2013 and preceded a $40 million Series C in June 2014. When the company emerged from stealth in October 2014 it said it had raised about $75 million from Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Bill Gates. The money paid for research into heme and plant-protein texture ahead of the Impossible Burger launch in July 2016. Impossible Foods went on to raise $108 million in October 2015 and close to $2 billion in total by November 2021. |
| Feb 2013 | Series A | Khosla Ventures (lead) | $3M | - | Impossible Foods took a further $3 million of Series A funding from Khosla Ventures in February 2013, according to funding-round records. The Redwood City, California company had been founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, a Stanford University biochemistry professor, to build meat and dairy substitutes directly from plants, and Khosla Ventures was its first venture capital seed provider. The tranche followed an initial Series A of about $6 million in September 2011 and preceded a $25 million Series B in July 2013. The company stayed in stealth until October 2014, when it disclosed that it had raised about $75 million in total from Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Bill Gates. The early capital funded the research on plant proteins and heme that led to the Impossible Burger, launched in July 2016, and by November 2021 Impossible Foods had raised close to $2 billion in total. |
| Sep 2011 | Series A | Khosla Ventures | $6M | - | Impossible Foods closed a Series A of about $6 million in September 2011, according to funding-round records, with Khosla Ventures as the company's first venture capital seed provider. The Redwood City, California company had been founded earlier that year by Patrick O. Brown, a Stanford University biochemistry professor emeritus, to build meat and dairy substitutes directly from plants. Khosla Ventures, which Vinod Khosla founded in 2004, went on to take part in the company's follow-on rounds, including a further $3 million Series A tranche in February 2013 and a $25 million Series B in July 2013. By October 2014 the company had disclosed about $75 million of funding from Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Bill Gates. The early capital funded research into plant proteins and heme, the molecule behind the flavour of the Impossible Burger launched in July 2016, and by November 2021 Impossible Foods had raised close to $2 billion. |
Who has invested in Impossible Foods?
18 investors have backed Impossible Foods across its funding rounds, including Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, Bill Gates, Mirae Asset and GV.
Lead investors include Mirae Asset, Coatue, Horizons Ventures, Temasek, Sailing Capital and 3 other investors.
Impossible Foods Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Lead | Sep 2011 | ||
| 5 | Lead | Aug 2017 | ||
| 5 | Lead | Jun 2014 | ||
| 4 | Lead | Jul 2013 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Mar 2020 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2020 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2015 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2014 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Apr 2018 | ||
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Start Free TrialImpossible Foods Competitors
Impossible Foods competitors include listed companies like Ingredion, Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui and Marfrig, and private ones like Perfect Day, Believer Meats and NotCo.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $7.2B | $1.2B | $6.1B | 1.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $802M | $255M | $6.2B | 6.2x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.5B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $900M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $30B | $2.1B | $4B | 0.5x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.5B | - |
Impossible Foods Public Comps
Impossible Foods is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Marfrig, Nisshin Seifun Group, Kewpie, Strauss Group, Societe LDC, Coca Cola Icecek, San Miguel Food, Cranswick, Want Want China and Patanjali Foods.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $30B | $2.1B | 0.5x | 0.5x | 6.6x | 5.8x | |||
| $5.5B | $518M | 0.7x | 0.7x | 7.8x | 8.6x | |||
| $3.3B | $415M | 1.2x | 1.1x | 9.2x | 10.6x | |||
| $2.5B | $369M | 2.0x | 1.2x | 13.4x | - | |||
| $8.1B | $789M | 0.5x | 0.5x | 5.6x | 5.4x | |||
| $3.8B | $785M | 1.3x | 1.0x | 6.3x | 5.5x | |||
| $6.6B | $1.3B | 0.9x | - | 4.5x | - | |||
| $4B | $447M | 1.0x | 1.0x | 9.3x | 8.9x | |||
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Common questions about Impossible Foods
| When was Impossible Foods founded? | Impossible Foods was founded in 2011. |
| Where is Impossible Foods headquartered? | Impossible Foods is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, United States. |
| Is Impossible Foods publicly listed? | No, Impossible Foods is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Impossible Foods' valuation? | Impossible Foods was last valued at $4B in its Series G in August 2020. |
| How much funding has Impossible Foods raised? | Impossible Foods has raised $1.9B across 11 funding rounds. |
| What was Impossible Foods' last funding round? | Impossible Foods' last funding round was a $500M Series H in November 2021, led by Mirae Asset. |
| Who are Impossible Foods' investors? | Impossible Foods' investors include Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, Bill Gates, Mirae Asset, Next Play Capital, XN, Li Ka-shing, GV, Open Philanthropy and 8 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Impossible Foods? | Companies comparable to Impossible Foods include Ingredion, Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui, Perfect Day, Believer Meats, Marfrig and NotCo. |
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