UPSIDE Foods Appoints Kyle Vogt, President and Co-Founder of Cruise, to its Board of Directors

BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UPSIDE Foods, a world leader in cultivated meat, poultry and seafood (also known as cell-cultured meat), today announced the appointment of Kyle Vogt to its Board of Directors. Vogt is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Technical Officer of Cruise, the self-driving car company. As UPSIDE accelerates its path towards commercialization and prepares to bring its first consumer product to market (pending regulatory review), Vogt brings to the board over a decade of experience in founding and scaling multiple innovative tech companies, from Cruise to Twitch.

"Kyle has unparalleled experience translating an extraordinary vision into groundbreaking innovation," said Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods. "Kyle's journey reimagining the role of automobiles in our transportation system is similar to UPSIDE's vision to reimagine the role of meat, fish and poultry in our food system. We are excited for the unique perspectives he will contribute to our company's next phase of growth."

Vogt has spent the last seven years developing and commercializing self-driving electric cars at Cruise. The company was acquired by General Motors (GM) to jump-start its self-driving efforts and still operates independently, with Vogt serving as one of GM's youngest senior directors. Prior to founding Cruise, Vogt helped build and launch Twitch, the world's leading live streaming platform for gamers, which was later acquired by Amazon. Before that, he co-founded video-start-ups Justin.tv and Socialcam.

"When I first invested in Uma's vision in 2017, I was immediately inspired by UPSIDE's transformative potential for the environment and animal welfare," said Vogt. "My confidence that UPSIDE is the future of meat has only increased, and I'm thrilled to join the UPSIDE board as we prepare to introduce products to the public."

Vogt's appointment comes as UPSIDE Foods prepares for commercialization, pending regulatory review. In the past months, the company has announced its first chef partnership with 3-Michelin Star chef Dominique Crenn, confirmed UPSIDE Chicken will be its inaugural product and introduced its Chief Operating Officer Amy Chen. 

About UPSIDE Foods
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods (formerly known as Memphis Meats) is reimagining meat for the 21st century -- developing new delicious new sources of meat, fish and poultry that also address environmental sustainability, animal welfare and public health concerns. By cultivating meat directly from animal cells, without the need to breed or slaughter animals, the company released the world's first cultivated meatball in February 2016 and the world's first cultivated poultry in March 2017. It aims to bring to the market delicious, real meat that is significantly better for the environment, animals and public health, while claiming a share of the $1.4 trillion global market for meat. UPSIDE Foods has raised over $200 million, including a $186 million series B round. For more information, please visit www.upsidefoods.com.

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SOURCE UPSIDE Foods