Eternal is a biotechnology company that seeks to democratize access to protein around the world. Its founder, Horacio Acerbo, believes in creating alternative protein products that are accessible to all–especially during the most formative years. Food production plays a leading role in both human and environmental health and Acerbo believes that nutrition, quality, and environmental impact should be held to higher standards. His vision inspired others to join him, creating a company that aims to provide high-quality protein to different countries and create a universal standard of nutrition to feed the next generation. 

Eternal is one of six finalist teams in XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion. Their solution is an alternative chicken breast made primarily from their specialized base product: Mycofood. Mycofood is an animal-free biomass developed from nutrient-rich Fusarium venenatum–an FDA and EFSA-approved fungus. With the help of analytic AI and microprotein cultivation technology, Eternal expedited research, optimized production, and reduced land usage compared to traditional chicken farming by 89%. 

“It’s like chicken but made on an industrial scale without compromising the planet.”  -Lucas Gago, VP of Innovation

The team credited their participation in XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion for helping them develop their goals and a consumer-ready product. Moving forward, Eternal intends to diversify production, normalize their Mycofood as a base source of nutrition, and penetrate the protein market around the world.  

“For us, it was like a dream being involved in XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion. It was a moment of joy to have the notice that we were selected the first time, the second time, and now the third. It was very important for team building to have the opportunity to participate in this contest.” -Martín Blasco Chief Scientific Officer

In addition to being selected as an XPRIZE finalist, Eternal won a NASA Centennial Challenge for food production in deep space travel, using carbon sources from astronauts to feed mycoproteins–proteins from fungus. Moving forward, Eternal seeks to make its products more accessible by producing biofood from very small molecules–such as methanol or ethanol–that do not require specialized equipment to extract. By doing so, they seek to contribute to having better sources of food around the world and, one day, on other planets. 

To learn more about Eternal as they head to finals, follow along at xprize.org/feed.