Growing Salmon from Cells — Aryé Elfenbein (Co-founder of Wildtype)

Aryé Elfenbein is the co-founder of Wildtype -- a San Francisco startup growing real salmon directly from cells. They're pioneers of cellular agriculture and have become the first company in the world to bring cultivated seafood to market.

In this live conversation, we discuss how Wildtype grows salmon from cells. We explore the work behind its texture and flavor, including techniques borrowed from textile manufacturing and changes to the cells’ diet.

Aryé recalls the early failures, the first restaurant tastings, and the practical problems of scaling production. The conversation was recorded at a World’s Fair Co gathering in San Francisco, with questions from an audience that had just tasted their salmon.

EPISODE PAGE + TRANSCRIPT
https://www.worldsfair.org/programs/wildtype

WATCH ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmbhsUVr3sM

CHAPTERS
00:00 A personal connection to salmon
02:36 From cardiology to cultivated fish
06:24 Why salmon?
09:46 Growing the cells
13:32 Recreating salmon’s texture
16:26 The first years—and the first taste
20:42 What kept the team going
22:22 When it started to feel like food
23:08 The road through regulation
28:05 What’s stopping the next scale-up?
30:35 Seeing people enjoy the food
32:05 Audience Q&A: what still needs improving?
33:22 Solving the practical problems
36:38 Learning from outside your field
37:30 The search for better flavor
41:58 A ten-year view of food
44:32 How to support Wildtype

CONNECT
Wildtype
Website: https://www.wildtypefoods.com/
X: https://twitter.com/wildtypefoods

World’s Fair Co.
X: https://x.com/WorldsFairCo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldsfairco

If you want to learn more about our in-person events, please visit worldsfair.org.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Build the Future Podcast. This is a project by World's Fair Co. You can learn more at worldsfair.org.