VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — On Feb. 18, Nestlé Purina PetCare’s UNLEASHED accelerator program announced the seven startups that will participate in its Class of 2025. Among these startups is Singapore-based UMAMI Bioworks, which produces cultivated seafood products. 

Powered by the Purina Accelerator Lab, UNLEASHED seeks to support startups through a test and learn approach to foster business growth. The 20-week program provides each startup with a tailored project, as well as access up to CHF 50,000 ($55,367 USD) and expert coaching from Purina’s commercial insights team. Additionally, UNLEASHED aims to identify synergies between the startups and Purina to explore long-term partnerships. 

This year’s cohort spans several areas in the industry, from veterinary diagnostics software and biometric pet identification to pet nutrition and more. 

“As in every sector, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key focus as businesses explore the technology’s opportunities and applications for them,” said Kim Bill, head of the Purina Accelerator Lab. “It was a key theme across the applications and the startups leveraging AI in our 2025 cohort represent the very best in providing creative ways to utilize the technology and advance the pet-care sector.

One of the startups included in this year’s program is UMAMI Bioworks, a bioplatform for machine learning-led development and plug-and-play manufacturing of cultivated seafood ingredients. The company has already partnered with Friends & Family Pet Food Company to develop cat treats formulated with cultivated fish. 

The other startups include Aitem, Hubii, Petnow, Petpaw, Petsy and SmartPetCare.

By providing the startups with cutting-edge mentoring and hands-on expert resources, the Purina Accelerator Lab will continue to support innovation and growth in the pet industry, according to the company.

“We saw a huge breadth of exciting and novel ideas which push boundaries in the pet care sector,” Bill said. “With each successive year we have added more businesses from new countries into the UNLEASHED community to create a truly global network of disruptive startups. I look forward to including this year’s participants among the successful companies we have supported so far.”

Since its start in 2019, UNLEASHED by Purina has accelerated 40 startups. 

Find more articles about pet food industry startups.