US – 108 Labs, one of the pioneers in the cultured production of human milk, is bolstering the development of the sector with plans to build and program the world’s first autonomous factory to produce cell-cultured human milk.
According to a statement from the company, the cellufacturing facility with artificial intelligence capabilities will be in Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States.
The factory which is being unveiled 18 months after 108Labs first launched its proprietary technology turns raw medium ingredients and validated cell lines into sterile packaged cell cultured human milk products like Colostrupedics whole-human infant formula.
To ensure quality and safety of the product is guaranteed, 108Labs says all processes from growth of artificial mammary glands to harvetsing and packing of the human milk products will be conducted in a closed-loop system.
“We are engineering the world’s largest mammary cell farm inside the smartest cellular agriculture factory,” said Shayne Giuliano, CEO of 108Labs.
With front-to-end Cellufacturing automation, the 108Labs autonomous milk factory is also expected to reduce production costs beyond 99% per ounce compared to lab grown milk.
The cultured milk startup hopes that with cost reductions will enable it achieve cost parity and production scale comparable to animal-derived milk- this is essential for market success of the product.
But 108Labs is not the only startup in this field that is quickly gaining popularity and showing potential to disrupt the infant formula business.
In Junes last year, BIOMILQ – a startup producing breastmilk by culturing human mammary cells – raised US$3.5m to meet the needs of the four-fifths of women who transition to dairy-based formula before the recommended six-month exclusivity period for breastfeeding.
Earlier this month Biomilq reported that it is on track to launch its cell-cultured human milk in just over three years, following its proof of complexity – successfully producing milk outside the breast.
Proof of complexity means that Biomilq’s product contains hundreds of diverse biomolecules that support babies’ growth and development.
108Labs being one step ahead, plans to scale with global open innovation partners to build autonomous milk Cellufacturing facilities around the world to feed newborns Colostrupedics whole-human infant formula and replace animal-derived milk products.
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Interesting stuff, just curious about how the sensory evaluation bit of the product is conducted. At this rate of AI and tech advancements, we might never need human beings at all, or just a few, say ten.