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Plant-based dairy Eclipse Foods raises $40M

Megan Hernbroth
Illustration of ice cream cone with a $100 bill sticking out of the side.

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Eclipse Foods, an Oakland-based startup that makes plant-based dairy foods, raised $40 million in new equity and debt funding, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: Alt protein startups still keep churning along.

Details: Sozo Ventures led the round, which values Eclipse in the "hundreds of millions" of dollars, CEO Aylon Steinhart says.

  • Existing investor Forerunner Ventures also participated, alongside Initialized Capital, Gaingels and KBW Ventures. The company was originally backed by Y Combinator.

How it works: Eclipse makes plant-based milk that is then used to create ice cream.

  • It replaces individual animal proteins in milk with plant-based alternatives.
  • "It was hammered into us during Y Combinator to pick one product to start with and prove traction and go from there," Eclipse co-founder and James Beard-nominated chef Thomas Bowman tells Axios.
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