HK billionaire Li Ka-shing invests in 3D bioprinting

(ECNS) – A Brooklyn startup has got a step closer to 3D printed meat and leather with an investment from Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing.

Li's firm Horizons Ventures led a $10 million Series A investment in Modern Meadow Inc, a company that grows meat and leather in a lab.

The company supplies fashion designers and leather producers with 3D printed leather without taking a toll on animals and the environment. It also grows fish, poultry and meat from muscle cells.

The startup, previously based in Columbia, Mo., has raised $250,000 in USDA and NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. It has also got $3 million in seed funding from Breakout Labs, Sequoia Capital, Artis Ventures and Iconiq.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of April 16, 2014, Li was the richest person in Asia.

The investment in Modern Meadow is his second move recently in the food science field.

In February, Horizons Ventures made an investment of $23 million in Hampton Creek, which produces eggs with vegetarian materials. The eggs entered the Hong Kong market in May.