Nick Cooney
Managing Partner @ Lever VC
New York, United States
Nick Cooney is a seed investor at Lever VC in New York focused on Food and Beverage and Biotechnology. Nick Cooney founded and is currently the Managing Parter at Lever VC ( http://www.levervc.com), a U.S.-Hong Kong venture capital fund that makes early stage investments in alternative protein food companies. (These include plant-based meat, dairy and egg products, as well as “clean” or cell-based meat, dairy and egg products, and relatedservice and technology companies.) Lever VC operates globally with staff and offices in Hong Kong S.A.R., the United States, Israel, and Europe. Nick has worked in the plant-based and alternative protein foods industry for nearly twenty years. He has completed over 50 investments into alternative protein companies. Nick serves on the board or as board observer of several portfolio companies.For entrepreneurs and companies that are interested in submitting a pitch deck or other proposal to Lever VC, or for other investors interested in connecting to discuss the alternative protein space, please submit an email through the Lever VC website: http://www.levervc.com .Prior to founding Lever VC, Nick was the co-founder and managing trustee of New Crop Capital, a private venture capital trust making investments in the alternative protein space. Nick is also co-founder of several non-profits working in the alternative protein sector, including the Good Food Institute, the largest NGO operating in the sector.In addition to his investment experience, Nick Cooney has spent nearly twenty years conducing policy and consulting work in the food industry. He has overseen $4 million yearly budgets and a team of 45 working to market alternative protein products in both established and emerging markets in North America, South America and Europe, as well as to promote similar food policy improvements. Nick has worked with hundreds of leading food companies across several continents, including Nestle, Costco, CarreFour, Kroger, and others. Nick began his career conducting entrepreneurship programs for the University of Pennsylvania (through a Wharton School-affiliated program) and launching a healthy food startup.Nick’s work in the food and food policy space has been covered by hundreds of media outlets worldwide, including Time, Reuters, USA Today, and numerous others. He has lectured on the space extensively, including throughout Europe and in the United States at places such as Harvard, Yale, Google, and Craigslist. He is also the author of a textbook on alternative protein consumers, Veganomics (2013), which provides a comprehensive look at data around why consumers choose these products, what distinguishes these products (including heavy consumers) from others, what barriers they face in choosing these products, etc. Nick has also written several other books: How To Be Great At Doing Good and Change Of Heart. More on his books is available on his Amazon author page at: https://www.amazon.com/Nick-Cooney/e/B004CTYG1Y .Nick grew up in Philadelphia and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hofstra University. He currently splits his time between the greater New York City area and China/Hong Kong S.A.R.More on Nick Cooney is available online on his website at: http://nickcooney.com . His personal email is: nick@levervc.com .Nick’s work websites are at http://www.nickcooney.com and at http://www.nickcooney.org .You can also see more about Nick at the following social media pages and links:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Cooneyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcooney1http://www.nickcooney.org/nick-cooney-about/https://www.facebook.com/nick.cooney1https://www.amazon.com/Nick-Cooney/e/B004CTYG1Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_sharehttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4252173.Nick_Cooneyhttps://medium.com/@NickCooney/whats-in-a-bio-the-new-nick-cooney-biography-3ce8daffb003https://www.crunchbase.com/person/nick-cooneyhttps://ar-conference.org/2013/nick_cooney.phphttps://twitter.com/nickcooney2?lang=enhttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/nick-cooney-lever-vc-invest-130000541.htmlhttps://www.audible.com/author/Nick-Cooney/B004CTYG1Yhttps://thriveglobal.com/stories/meet-nick-cooney-on-an-analysis-of-the-healthy-lifestyle-and-the-people-who-prefer-to-lead-a-healthy-life/https://animalcharityevaluators.org/charity-reviews/charity-conversations/2016-conversation-with-nick-cooney/https://upside.fm/nick-cooney-lever-vc/https://qz.com/author/nickcooney/https://www.vegan.com/book-review-nick-cooneys-change-of-heart/https://www.chicvegan.com/tag/nick-cooneyhttps://www.worldofvegan.com/tag/nick-cooney/https://www.meetup.com/sacvegansociety-org/events/107676062/https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-09-05/nick-cooney-launches-the-lever-vc-fundhttps://inspirery.com/nick-cooney/https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/06/11/investor-i-wouldnt-bet-against-the-plant-based-meat-space.htmlhttps://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/08/18/Lever-VC-launches-new-fund-targeting-alternative-protein-deploys-first-5m-in-10-startups-spanning-plant-based-eggs-to-cell-cultured-breastmilkhttps://www.just-food.com/interview/covid-just-adds-yet-another-tailwind-investor-nick-cooney-on-the-opportunities-for-alternative-protein-fund-lever-vc_id144343.aspxhttps://www.instagram.com/nick.cooney2 https://www.nickcooney.comhttps://wiki2.org/en/Nick_Cooneyhttps://books.google.com/books/about/Veganomics.html?id=Cl2UtQEACAAJhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/nick-cooney/394842530https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Nick_Cooneyhttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick_Cooneyhttps://soundcloud.com/audible/how-to-be-great-at-doing-goodhttps://www.youtube.com/c/NickCooney1https://www.pinterest.com/nickcooney1/_saved/https://vimeo.com/nickcooneyhttps://www.tumblr.com/blog/nickcooney1
- Total investments:
- 11
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 64%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Nick Cooney invests in
Stages Nick Cooney invests in
Countries Nick Cooney invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Food and Beverage 9 (82%)
- Biotechnology 5 (45%)
- Food Processing 5 (45%)
- Alternative Protein 3 (27%)
- Agriculture 2 (18%)
Stage
- Seed 3 (27%)
- Pre-Seed 3 (27%)
- Series A 3 (27%)
- Angel 1 (9%)
Country
- United States 3 (27%)
- China 2 (18%)
- Singapore 2 (18%)
- Canada 1 (9%)
- United Kingdom 1 (9%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Clever Carnivore
|
Clever Carnivore is a cell-cultured meat startup that uses stem cell biology, recombinant protein, and bioengineering to create cost-effective lab grown meats. With the company's high-efficiency model, cruelty-free, environmentally friendly, and cost-competitive technology it aims to produce sausage, burgers, and chicken nuggets. | $7M / Seed / Dec 04, 2023 | |
New School Foods
|
New School Foods creates plant-based seafood with the same texture, flavor, nutritional benefits, and cooking experience as traditional seafood. The first product of the company is a plant-based filet that looks, cooks, and tastes like wild salmon. The company aims to accelerate the transition to a kinder, more sustainable food system. | $12M / Seed / Feb 02, 2023 | |
NuCicer
|
NuCicer is unlocking chickpea’s full potential - transitioning it from “interesting ingredient” to “staple superfood” by launching new varieties with ground-breaking agronomic and quality traits that deliver better nutrition, improved flavor, and more economical ingredients. NuCicer’s technology combines the world's most diverse chickpeabreeding library and their proprietary breeding innovation platform, built on deep roots in plant genetics and machine learning, to create value across the agri-food system. | $2.5M / Seed / Nov 03, 2022 | |
CellX
|
CellX is creating the world's first mushroom protein from morel mycelium fermentation. Our ingredient and product solutions can be applied to savory snacks, protein powders, and meat alternatives.We are also licensing existing IPs to help accelerate the commercialization of cultivated meat. Our technology offerings include suspension celllines and serum-free media that have achieved 30M/ml cell density and <$5/L media cost, tested at the 2,000L scale. | $10.6M / Series A / May 16, 2022 | |
|
NuCicer
|
NuCicer is unlocking chickpea’s full potential - transitioning it from “interesting ingredient” to “staple superfood” by launching new varieties with ground-breaking agronomic and quality traits that deliver better nutrition, improved flavor, and more economical ingredients. NuCicer’s technology combines the world's most diverse chickpeabreeding library and their proprietary breeding innovation platform, built on deep roots in plant genetics and machine learning, to create value across the agri-food system. | $4.5M / Seed / Mar 02, 2022 | |
Marvelous Foods
|
Marvelous Foods was created in Beijing, China to address needs for gut-healing and allergy-friendly foods. | $1.2M / Angel / Jan 17, 2022 | |
THIS
|
THIS is a plant-based meat brand that provides alternative meat products for meat lovers. The company's products are made of plant-based ingredients that are fortified with vitamin B12 and iron, enabling meat lovers to get the real feel of having meat-based products and satisfy their tastes without killing animals. | $15.3M / Series A / Jun 28, 2021 | |
Mission Barns
|
Mission Barns is making the juicy, savory meats they all love in a sustainable, more efficient way. At Mission Barns, they are cultivating animal cells to sustainably grow meat without the negative impacts of intensive animal agriculture. They start with a handful of cells from select animals, grow them in a nutrient-rich environment, and harvestdelicious, savory meat. Working at the convergence of biotech and food science, they’re on the path to creating a more sensible food system for the world. | $24M / Series A / Apr 07, 2021 | |
|
CellX
|
CellX is creating the world's first mushroom protein from morel mycelium fermentation. Our ingredient and product solutions can be applied to savory snacks, protein powders, and meat alternatives.We are also licensing existing IPs to help accelerate the commercialization of cultivated meat. Our technology offerings include suspension celllines and serum-free media that have achieved 30M/ml cell density and <$5/L media cost, tested at the 2,000L scale. | $500K / Pre-Seed / Aug 01, 2020 | |
TurtleTree
|
TurtleTree is a biotech company dedicated to producing a new generation of nutrition—one that’s better for the planet, better for the animals, and better for people everywhere. Utilizing its proprietary, cell-based technology, the company is creating better-for-you milk ingredients sustainably and affordably, with benefits that extend beyond thedining table and into the heart of humanity. | Pre-Seed / Jan 20, 2020 | |
| See all 11 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About Lever VC
Lever VC is a U.S.-Hong Kong venture capital fund founded by Managing Partner Nick Cooney and investing in early stage companies in the alternative protein sector (plant-based and “clean”/cell-based meat, egg and dairy companies). Lever VC operates globally, with offices in Hong Kong and the U.S. and staff in the US, Hong Kong, Europe, andIsrael. Entrepreneurs and startups interested in connecting with Lever VC about possible investment can reach the team and submit information about their company at http://www.levervc.com.Managing Partner Nick Cooney is the Co-Founder and former Managing Trustee of New Crop Capital, a private venture capital trust vehicle investing in the alternative protein space, and is Co-Founder of the Good Food Institute, the world’s largest non-governmental organization working to grow the alternative protein space. The General Partners at Lever VC have deployed over $1.5 billion in capital over the past decade across a variety of sectors, including over thirty deals in the alternative protein space.
Lever VC Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Jasmin Kern
Analyst
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Julian Ting
Vice President
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Lawrence Chu
Partner
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Nick Cooney
Managing Partner
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1 more contact available
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FAQ
What does Nick Cooney invest in?
Nick Cooney invests primarily in Food and Beverage, Biotechnology and Food Processing startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 11 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did Nick Cooney last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Nick Cooney closed in Dec 2023. Shizune tracks 11 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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