RIYADH: Oakland-based Eclipse Foods has raised over $40 million in its Series B funding round led by Sozo Ventures with participation from Forerunner Ventures, Initialized Capital, Gaingels, and KBW Ventures. To date, the plant-based dairy products firm has raised over $60 million so far, with investors including Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, the green tech venture capitalist and Seth Goldman, chairman of Beyond Meat, according to a statement. The newly acquired fund will fuel the business’s growth in retail and food service and will accelerate R&D on its proprietary plant-based dairy platform. “The No. 1 reason consumers avoid plant-based dairy is taste,” said Bob Roe, vice president of Narrative Development at Sozo Ventures. “Seventy percent of the world’s population is lactose intolerant and with the alternative protein space projected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2050, Eclipse is positioned to completely transform the dairy industry with its proprietary plant-based dairy platform,” he added. Founded in 2019, the US firm seeks to create a more sustainable and healthy food system with its plant-based dairy platform. “With 10 billion people to feed by 2050, we recognized that global diets must change,” said Aylon Steinhart, co-founder and CEO of Eclipse Foods. “Consumers want more than just a dairy alternative like almond milk — they want a true replacement. Our plant-based dairy platform uses micelles (the microscopic magic of milk) to create the replacement products that consumers have been craving, and our growth over the last three years is a testament to that,” he added.