KBW Ventures, the venture capital (VC) firm founded by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, son of Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has invested in US-based Bond Pet Foods in a $1.2 million seed funding round.

Bond uses biotechnology to make animal-free and protein-rich pet food through a fermentation process. Animal muscle protein genes are taken from a farm animal and added to a microbe which is then fermented and fed with simple sugars, vitamins and minerals to produce a protei that is nutritionally identical to their meat counterparts without the environmental, animal welfare and safety downsides.

The seed round was led by Lever VC with participation from Agronomics, Plug and Play Ventures and Andante Asset Management.

"KBW Ventures joined Bond's seed round because we see that their proprietary approach to production has far reaching implications. The technology and science behind Bond products is in line with our values; we want to back ventures that are commercially-promising and that seek sustainable solutions," said Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, founder and chief executive officer at KBW Ventures.

This is not the first “meat-alternative” investment from the Prince, who is an early investor in Beyond Meat, the vegan alternative to beef burgers based in the US.