French foodtech startup Verley has secured €32 million in Series A funding just four years after its launch, marking a major milestone for the company as it scales its precision fermentation platform and prepares for international expansion. The financing positions Verley among the fastest progressing players in Europe’s next generation of food ingredient innovators, as demand accelerates for sustainable, high performance protein solutions.
Building the next generation of whey proteins
Founded to address both nutritional and environmental challenges in the global food system, Verley develops functional whey protein ingredients using precision fermentation. Its core focus is beta lactoglobulin, the most valuable protein fraction in whey, engineered to deliver the nutritional quality and functional performance required by food and nutrition manufacturers.
Rather than disrupting existing supply chains, Verley has designed its approach to integrate seamlessly into current food manufacturing processes. The company operates exclusively as a B2B ingredient supplier, working directly with manufacturers to support the development of high protein, clean label and easily digestible products across a wide range of applications.
FermWhey™, performance designed for real formulations
Verley’s ingredient portfolio is marketed under the FermWhey™ brand. These functionalised whey proteins are engineered not only for nutritional value but also for performance in real world food formulations, including high protein yoghurts, protein shots and other fortified products.
The proteins combine high purity with advanced solubility, emulsification and gelling properties, alongside optimised nutritional profiles. According to the company, its proprietary functionalisation technologies go beyond replicating conventional dairy proteins, instead enhancing their properties and unlocking new formulation possibilities for food producers.
Meeting rising global protein demand sustainably
High protein nutrition has shifted from a niche category to a mainstream expectation. Demographic growth, changing dietary habits and the rapid rise of GLP 1 treatments are intensifying demand for high quality, digestible protein ingredients. In 2025, one in eight adults in the United States was reported to be taking a GLP 1 drug, further increasing demand for efficient protein intake.
At the same time, conventional whey protein production faces structural constraints, including environmental pressure and limited scalability. Verley’s fermentation based process uses only a fraction of the natural resources required by traditional dairy production, offering manufacturers a lower impact alternative that can scale with global demand.
Regulatory progress and deep technology foundations
Since its creation, Verley has followed a disciplined development strategy combining speed with industrial rigour. In under four years, the company has achieved major regulatory milestones, including a self affirmed GRAS status in 2024 and an FDA No Questions letter in 2025, validating the safety of its ingredients for the US market.
Alongside regulatory progress, Verley has built a robust intellectual property portfolio covering both fermentation processes and proprietary protein functionalisation technologies, reinforcing its long term technological differentiation.
Fueling global expansion and industrial scale up
The Series A round was led by Alven and includes new investors Blast and the French Tech Seed fund, managed by Bpifrance as part of France 2030, alongside existing backers Sofinnova, Sparkfood, Captech and Founders Future. Additional non dilutive support from Bpifrance further strengthens the company’s financial position.
The new capital will primarily support Verley’s entry into the US market, including commercial deployment, early customer scale up and increased production capacity. Continued investment in research and development will focus on further improving performance, efficiency and sustainability. Following the US launch, Europe and the Middle East have been identified as priority regions for expansion.
Stéphane Mac Millan, CEO and co founder of Verley, said the company is now ready to help relieve pressure on the dairy industry while building a European champion grounded in decades of dairy expertise and advanced biotechnology.