Belgian cultivated seafood startup Fishway has been acquired by Israel-based industrial technology company, Ever After Foods.
The deal will see Fishway’s team become Ever After Foods’ European centre of excellence for aquatic cell biology and the development of animal-component-free media. “The cultivated protein space has faced an assortment of challenges over the last few years, but the promise of quality protein production at scale has not dimmed,” notes Fishway CEO Annelies Bogaerts.
She adds that the industry is entering a new phase, moving from isolated technology development to industrial integration and commercialisation.
Since its founding, Fishway’s goal has been to develop practical technologies that help bring cultivated seafood closer to commercial reality. Over the years, the company has built strong expertise in fish cell cultivation and animal-component-free (ACF) media development.
“It was clear that the acquisition would help us drive a new era of safe, sustainable protein manufacturing,” Annelies shares.
An initial technology collaboration demonstrated that combining Fishway’s specialised aquatic biology and animal-component-free media with Ever After Foods’ integrated development and manufacturing platform creates a faster, more integrated pathway from biological innovation through media development and industrial-scale production.
The integration will shorten development cycles, reduce technical interfaces and accelerate commercialisation across multiple species and applications. “The future of protein will be determined not by who develops the next breakthrough, but by who can bring breakthrough technologies together into scalable industrial production,” points out Ever After Foods CEO Eyal Rosenthal.
“Fishway is an important addition to our broader strategy of building the industrial infrastructure required for resilient, scalable and secure protein production.”
He explains that Ever After Foods will continue to expand its industrial protein manufacturing platform through internal innovation, strategic partnerships, and selective technology integrations. “We are committed to selectively integrating complementary biology, media and manufacturing technologies while remaining an open manufacturing platform serving companies across the cultivated protein ecosystem.”
Ever After Foods also secured an extra $2 million strategic investment to support continued commercialisation and further expansion of its platform. Fishway's shareholders, who share the company’s confidence in the platform’s long-term potential, will continue to support the newly integrated entity.
One of its first commercial programmes will focus on cultivated functional protein ingredients for premium pet food, given the compelling combination of industry demand, product value and favourable regulatory dynamics. The platform will also enable food companies, ingredient companies and cultivated protein developers to accelerate the development and industrial-scale production of cultivated meat, seafood and other next-generation protein applications.
“We look forward to supporting EAF’s industrial platform,” Annelies concludes.
