Higher Steaks rebrands as Uncommon and secures $30M funding

Uncommon is the new name of the cultured meat startup Higher Steaks, which was founded in the UK and raised $30 million in a Series A round of funding.

Uncommon, a company based in Cambridge, was established in 2017 and is one of many organizations working to make cultured meat, or "lab-grown" meat, a reality in kitchens and eateries all over the world. For its part, Uncommon develops bacon and pork belly products with a primary focus on the $250 billion global pork market.

The only market in the world where cultured meat is currently sold is Singapore, which is due to regulatory barriers making it difficult for the product to gain traction. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has just begun to certify such edibles as safe for consumption by people.

But some nations are resisting the fake meat revolution, including Italy, which is considering a complete ban on lab-created food in order to preserve its culinary heritage.

But Uncommon claims to be employing a method involving a polymeric molecule known as RNA (ribonucleic acid), or more specifically mRNA, which essentially contains "instructions" that allow cells to make proteins from its own internal functions.

With participation from a number of institutional and angel investors, including OpenAI's Sam Altman and his brother Max, Uncommon's $30 million Series A round was co-led by London's Balderton Capital and New York's Lowercarbon Capital. 

While keeping a "close eye" on the American market, the company stated that it intends to use its recent infusion of cash to scale up production and launch its regulatory approval process in Europe and Singapore.