I have to share an experience I had today. Ya know, having worked in the tech world for a decade and a half, I’ve had the opportunity to see some pretty incredible innovations, some of which went on to change the world. However, there have only been a few instances in which I felt, at that moment, like I was living in the future. One such event was when I went to Professor @AmnonShashua’s house to experience the next generation of Mobileye’s autonomous driving technology. We rode in this car in rush hour and touched nothing. Not even once. 100% autonomy. I felt like I was sitting in a car in the future. Today, I had the same feeling. I went to visit a company called @AlephFarms. I originally heard of Aleph Farms from one of their investors, @AmirWeitmann of Champel Capital. He introduced me to the CEO, Didier Toubia, and I did a short interview with him. This was a while back… Today, I went to their headquarters. The visit began when I met Dr. Ayelet Maor-Shoshani, Senior Director of Cell Line and Media Development. She showed me around the labs and explained to me how it all works. I had to ask her to dumb it down a few times, but I think I grasped about 90% of it. They take cells from a cow, work their magic, and produce a piece of meat that I would say is most comparable to a minute steak. Then I sat with Didier, the CEO. We talked tech, we talked investment, and of course we talked marketing. The company has raised about $140 million from some big name investors, and truly has the potential, not only to make a huge impact on the environment, but potentially to solve world hunger. No, I am not kidding. Not even exaggerating a little bit! So let me drill down a little and then I’ll tell you how the steak was when the in house chef prepared some unique dishes for me. Aleph Farms is a cellular agriculture company focused on cultivating high-quality products from cow cells, starting with Aleph Cuts, the world's first cultivated beef steaks. The company unveiled the world’s first cultivated thin-cut beef steak in 2018, the world’s first cultivated ribeye steak in 2021, and cultivated collagen in 2022. Aleph Farms begins with cells derived from a fertilized egg of a premium Black Angus cow called Lucy. These cells, stored in a cell bank, are cultivated in temperature-controlled cultivators and fed necessary nutrients to proliferate. Using a plant protein matrix, the cells form the structure of Aleph Cuts, which are ready for harvesting in about four weeks. Stored and distributed to chef partners, Aleph Cuts can be served in various forms, allowing chefs to create traditional or innovative dishes. I tried a few of them. These products play a pivotal role in the transition to sustainable and secure food systems. In December 2023, Aleph received regulatory approval from Israel's Ministry of Health for its cultivated Petit Steak, grown from non-modified cells of premium Black Angus cows. This green light was the first ever for non-chicken cultivated meat anywhere in the world. It is also the first for cultivated meat of any kind in the Middle East. Following an audit of its pilot production facility in Rehovot, Aleph will introduce Aleph Cuts in limited quantities via tailored tasting experiences for consumers and other relevant stakeholders. By the way, the chief rabbi of Israel came to the offices, interviewed the team to learn more about how it works, and concluded not only that it’s kosher but that it’s pareve. (Not considered meat so it can be eaten with dairy, like butter or cheese!) Game changer! Aleph was established in 2017 by Didier Toubia (CEO), Technion Professor Shulamit Levenberg, Dr. Neta Lavon, and the Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group. For some perspective, when cultivated beef is produced with renewable energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decrease 92%, 90% less land is used, and there is a 94% reduction in pollution, as compared to intensive, Western European beef production. Ok and now to the big question. How did it taste? I gotta be honest. I had low expectations. The team kept telling me that they don’t compare their product to regular steaks. They even made the analogy to a regular car and an electric car. They are similar but not the same. So I didn’t expect much. I kinda imagined it would be like tofu. So I sat down and the company chef explained that he was going to prepare me three different dishes with their meat. The first was a piece of steak with salt and pepper. A regular steak. The second was going to be coated with bread crumbs. Think veal shnitzel. And the third, he asked me what I want and I said Asian. He explained to me that unlike regular steak, their meat can be on the fire for extended periods and it doesn’t dry up. It retains the juices. I was skeptical. Just being honest… And then I took the first bite. Holy actual cow. (Sorry, had to.) It was incredible! Like really really good! Super juicy. Super tasty. And I don’t know what they were talking about. It totally tasted like a steak to me. I ate the first piece. 9/10 Then came the shnitzel. Super delicious. I liked the first one better though. 7.5/10 And then he made me a more Asian tasting dish with broccoli and mushrooms and their steak. I am not even kidding, this thing was wildly delicious! Like I would totally eat this at a restaurant instead of real meat. 9.5/10 I was blown away. Of course I couldn’t help myself and I taught the chef that when the Israelites were in the desert, God gave them Mana to eat and according to many commentators, it was a food that could taste like whatever you wanted it to taste like. Kinda like Aleph Farms. He was intrigued. Today, I spent a few hours in the future, and it was a very very delicious future! Watch this space. Watch this company!