EIC funding

Dutch startup Vivici has been awarded €12.5 million ($14.4 million) through the European Innovation Council Accelerator Program to expand production of dairy proteins made by precision fermentation, according to AgFunderNews. The publication reported the financing on June 17, 2026, and said it combines €2.5 million in grant funding with €10 million in equity investment. The source does not state an application deadline for the award.

AgFunderNews said the EIC funding will support Vivici’s effort to scale supply of precision-fermented dairy proteins to new customers. AgFunderNews identified the products as Vivitein BLG and Vivitein LF, and reported that supply agreements have been signed and are being fulfilled from existing supply. Chief executive Stephan van Sint Fiet told AgFunderNews that commercial interest in both products was converting into action.

Vivici was formed by Fonterra and DSM-Firmenich in December 2022, according to AgFunderNews. The publication said the company has drawn on its founders’ dairy-protein and industrial biomanufacturing expertise. AgFunderNews also reported that Vivici integrated technology from Danish startup Enduro Genetics into its production strain, increasing titers and yields by improving cell productivity. Those metrics are key to biomanufacturing, according to the publication, making the technical work directly relevant to the economics and throughput of commercial food fermentation.

The award matters for cell agriculture because it directs public and equity capital toward moving a fermentation-derived animal protein platform from technology development into larger-scale supply, as described by AgFunderNews. It is specifically relevant to precision fermentation because Vivici uses production strains to make dairy proteins, according to the report. For sustainable protein, the financing supports an alternative-protein production route and additional customer supply, although the source does not provide environmental impact figures.

AgFunderNews reported that Vivici has European co-manufacturing partners capable of industrial-scale production and an agreement with Liberation Bioindustries to manufacture its proteins in Indiana. The publication also said Vivici partnered with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to explore an industrial-scale alternative-protein facility in the UAE. These arrangements, together with the EIC financing, place the funding within a broader scale-up strategy spanning contract production and potential new capacity, according to the report.

The company has also progressed on regulation, according to AgFunderNews, which reported FDA GRAS status for beta-lactoglobulin in February 2025 and self-GRAS status for lactoferrin in February 2026. AgFunderNews identified beta-lactoglobulin as the primary protein in whey and lactoferrin as a bioactive protein. Van Sint Fiet told the publication that Vivici is focused on submitting a high-quality dossier to EFSA and hopes for a positive scientific opinion within EFSA’s stated 18-month timeline.

CONCLUSION

The European Innovation Council’s €12.5 million package gives Vivici €2.5 million in grant support and €10 million in equity, according to AgFunderNews. The disclosed use is to scale precision-fermented dairy protein supply, linking the award directly to commercial food biomanufacturing and alternative proteins, according to the publication. The report presents the funding alongside existing supply agreements, production partnerships and regulatory progress, while providing no application deadline or quantified sustainability outcomes.