Cultured meat start-up Vow axes 30 per cent of workforce [Video]

Cultured meat start-up Vow is shedding 30 per cent of its workforce, making 25 staff members redundant, with chief executive George Peppou blaming slower than expected regulatory approvals for the “incredibly difficult decision”.

The Sydney-based company has raised more than $US50 million ($80 million) from high-profile investors, including Hostplus and Blackbird Ventures, to manufacture its range of cultured meats – grown not from animals but from cells in stainless-steel tanks – and get them into high-end restaurants and supermarkets.

Its novel meat products have made headlines globally, including foie gras made from the cells of Japanese quails and woolly mammoth meatballs made using DNA extracted from 1000-year-old cells of the ancient extinct creatures.

While some of its products have been served in restaurants …