Motif FoodWorks
Foodtech / plant-basedUSA
New to Unitard
π Dead / Bankrupt
PeakΒ $1.23 BillionToday
~-100%
from peak
- π¦Became a unicorn2021
- πPeak valuation$1.23 Billion β21
- πBecame a Unitard2024
- πΈLast valuationWiped out
π₯ Raised & burned
$345M
Total raised
$187K/day
Burned Β· 5.0y alive
Funding: AgFunder / Crunchbase
Current status
Shut down in 2024 after settling a multi-year IP lawsuit with Impossible Foods; sold its heme business to Impossible and wound down operations.
The rise & fall
5 moments Β· 2019β2024The key moments.
2019
2019
Spun out of Ginkgo Bioworks
Engineered ingredients β notably a heme protein β to make plant-based meat taste better; Bill Gates among the backers.
AgFunderNews
2021
2021
The peak: a $226M Series B at ~$1.23B$1.23B
The alt-protein boom crowns the two-year-old ingredient maker a unicorn.
PitchBook
2022
2022
Impossible Foods sues over heme
A multi-year patent war begins over the very ingredient Motif was built around.
AgFunderNews
2024
2024
Settles, sells the heme, shuts down β joins the Unitard Club π
Motif ends the IP fight by selling its heme business to Impossible Foods, then winds down: ~$345M raised and a $1.23B peak, gone in five years.
AgFunderNews
$1.23Bof peak value erased Β· 5 years
How it happened
Motif FoodWorks, spun out of Ginkgo Bioworks in 2019, engineered ingredients (notably a heme protein) to make plant-based meat taste better. It raised $343.5M from investors including Bill Gates and was valued at ~$1.23B in 2021 (PitchBook).
After a costly multi-year IP fight with Impossible Foods and a souring alt-protein market, Motif settled with Impossible β selling it the heme business β and shut down in 2024.
Source: $226M Series B 2021 (~$1.23B post-money); shutdown 2024 (AgFunderNews)
Where they went
- Jonathan McIntyreCEO (2019-2022)Advisor at Edlong Flavor Solutions
Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-19. See our methodology.
