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Award marks pivotal step toward climate-resilient, fermented proteins
Singapore – May 3, 2025 — Anomaly Bio proudly announces that it has won the 2025 MIT Water, Food & Agriculture (WFA) Innovation Prize, the Institute’s flagship competition for student-led ventures shaping the future of sustainable water, food and ag-tech. The Prize places Anomaly Bio in the company of alumni success stories such as Mori (formerly Cambridge Crops), a 2017 finalist that has since raised more than US $85 million to commercialize its edible coatings.
Since launching in 2015, the WFA Prize has distributed US$225 000 in non-dilutive grants to 28 winning teams. This year’s final, held at the MIT Media Lab, featured seven startups judged by leaders from venture capital, industry and academia.
“Winning the MIT WFA Prize validates our vision of making fermented proteins abundant, affordable and sustainable,” said Armaan Dhanda, co-founder of Anomaly Bio. “The grant, mentorship and network we gain will accelerate our push from lab to market within the next 12 months.”
Anomaly Bio extends its gratitude to the MIT Water Club, MIT Food & Agriculture Club, the judges, mentors and sponsors who made this milestone possible. The team will deploy the prize funding to scale pilot production for relevant stakeholders.
Anomaly Bio is a Singapore-based startup that produces protein ingredients on demand through advanced fermentation, relying only on sugar, water, electricity, and a tank. By eliminating animal and plant extraction, it offers cleaner, scalable, and environmentally friendly ingredients for everyday industries.
The MIT Water, Food & Agriculture Innovation Prize is a solutions-to-market competition that supports the next breakthrough in water, food, and agriculture. Organized by the MIT Water Club and the MIT Food & Agriculture Club, the Prize awards over $50,000 in innovation grants annually to student-led startups from across the United States. The competition aims to help emerging entrepreneurs translate research and ideas into businesses, access mentors and resources, and build networks in the water, food, and agriculture industries.