Canadian startup Opalia has secured C$3.2M ($2.3M) in the first close of a funding round to expand production of its cell-based dairy and pursue regulatory clearance in North America.
Months after signing its first commercial supply deal with Dutch dairy giant Hoogwegt, Montreal-based firm Opalia has raised C$3.2M ($2.3M) in fresh funding for its cell-based milk platform.
The investment was led by Nàdarra Ventures, with participation from Spring Capital, UCeed, Anges Quebec, and existing backers such as Investissement Québec, Cycle Momentum, and BoxOne Ventures.
The startup is now selectively engaging additional strategic investors, citing “strong early demand”, expecting to raise a further C$1.8M ($1.32M) to bring the total funding sum to C$5M ($3.67M) by mid-July, co-founder and CEO Jennifer Côté tells Green Queen.
“Funds will be used to develop a larger production system (that can produce higher volumes at lower costs); run a pre-commercial pilot with Hoogwegt (testing product viability at a small scale); file additional PCT patents (including strategic geographies); and continue the regulatory approval process (with an initial focus in North America),” she explains.
Opalia has pre-commercial agreements in several countries
Founded in 2020 by Côté and CTO Lucas House, Opalia’s patent-pending technology can produce products like butter, cream, cheese, yoghurt, and other dairy products without the cow.
It has established an immortalised bovine mammary cell line, which means it doesn’t need to harvest any more tissue from the cow. It grows its cells in bioreactors and induces lactation to produce the full composition of milk – including proteins, fats and sugars – in a similar downstream process to that of cow’s milk.
Unlike precision fermentation, which companies use to produce bioidentical dairy proteins or fats, Opalia’s serum-free cell-based process delivers milk as a ready-to-use product, not an ingredient.
It can be sold directly as fluid or powdered milk to B2B customers, seamlessly integrating into existing dairy supply chains and enabling companies to incorporate animal-free dairy into their portfolios.
The company has secured paid pre-commercial pilot agreements with dairy majors, including a two-year deal with Hoogwegt to “create a range of cell-cultured dairy products and showcase the viability and viability of Opalia’s tech in a small batch”. “Opalia manufactures whole milk, which can be tested as is and/or transformed into a cheese, butter, or another dairy product,” says Côté.
It has also signed a paid pilot with the Canadian division of one of the world’s largest dairy companies. Opalia’s partnerships span five countries across three continents, and it’s already advancing discussions with other food and dairy giants in North America, Europe, and Asia to convert signed letters of intent into additional commercial pilots over the next two years.
It is one of just a handful of companies working on cell-based dairy, alongside Wilk, Accellta (both Israel), Senara (Europe), and Brown Foods‘s UnReal Milk (US/India). France’s Nūmi and US-based 108Labs, meanwhile, are developing cultivated breast milk.
First regulatory filing in Canada, followed by the US
The funding, which takes Opalia’s total raised to $5.3M, will support its next phase of growth, including the development of a larger production model through the scale-up of its proprietary modular bioreactor.
Over the next 24 months, the company will validate its modular bioreactor, laying the foundation for rapid, capital-efficient capacity expansion with a view to entering the market in 2028 alongside Hoogwegt and other partners.
The scale-up is expected to drive significant cost reductions, helping the company narrow the price gap with dairy. “The intention is to reach a production unit cost of $2 per litre,” says Côté, confirming that it will initially manufacture the cell-based milk at its Montreal facility.
Opalia noted that its next milestone is regulatory approval, with submission work already underway in both Canada and the US. Regulatory filings in Asia and Europe will follow soon.
In the US, where one state has already preemptively banned the sale of cell-based dairy, the company will require approval from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. Côté reveals that it will first file for clearance in Canada, followed by the US.
Its funding comes amid an unforgiving investment climate for future foods, especially cultivated proteins, which witnessed a near-50% drop in financing in 2025. Overall, the alternative protein sector collectively raised less than $1B for the first time in seven years.
What made Opalia’s efforts successful? “This is a small team that has reached key milestones, particularly in product feasibility and landing strategic partnerships with major dairy players interested in supporting the technology from concept to commercialisation,” says Côté.
“Investors also see the value that, unlike precision fermentation, which produces individual milk proteins that must be formulated into a finished product, Opalia produces complete milk with its patent-pending technology,” she adds.
