{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-14/upside-foods-valeti-goldman-sachs-honor","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-14/upside-foods-valeti-goldman-sachs-honor.md","title":"UPSIDE Foods CEO Uma Valeti Honored by Goldman Sachs","headline":"Goldman Sachs Names UPSIDE Foods CEO Uma Valeti Among 2026's Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs","description":"Goldman Sachs recognized UPSIDE Foods CEO Uma Valeti at its Builders and Innovators Summit, honoring a company that has raised over $600 million.","section":"Business","published_at":"2026-10-14T18:58:56+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-14T18:58:56+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Goldman Sachs recognized UPSIDE Foods CEO Uma Valeti as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2026 at its Builders and Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California.","UPSIDE Foods, founded in 2015, has raised more than $600 million and launched its Chicken Filet in 2021.","UPSIDE Foods withdrew its $50 million offer for Believer Meats' North Carolina facility in August 2026 after conditions were not met."],"companies":[{"name":"UPSIDE Foods","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00006bl/upside-foods","website":"https://www.upsidefoods.com"},{"name":"Goldman Sachs","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000by/goldman-sachs","website":"https://www.goldmansachs.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"PR Newswire","title":"UPSIDE Foods Honored by Goldman Sachs for Entrepreneurship","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/upside-foods-honored-by-goldman-sachs-for-entrepreneurship-302908966.html"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Business","UPSIDE Foods","Goldman Sachs"],"body_markdown":"[Goldman Sachs](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000by/goldman-sachs) recognized [UPSIDE Foods](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00006bl/upside-foods) CEO Uma Valeti as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2026 at its Builders and Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California, the company said on October 14, 2026. [PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/upside-foods-honored-by-goldman-sachs-for-entrepreneurship-302908966.html) carried the announcement.\n\n## Valeti's Honor at the Builders and Innovators Summit\n\nGoldman Sachs selected Valeti from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Valeti founded UPSIDE Foods in 2015, and the company describes itself as the world's first cultivated meat company, growing real meat directly from animal cells. Its Chicken Filet was the first cultivated meat product green-lit by both the FDA and the USDA and made available for sale in the U.S.\n\n\"I started UPSIDE because I love meat and believed we could make it without killing animals,\" Valeti said. \"A decade later, we've proven the science, and now we're bringing it to scale through American ingenuity and manufacturing.\"\n\nDavid Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, said the bank was pleased to recognize Valeti. \"As AI reshapes the global landscape, the leaders at UPSIDE Foods are proving that agility and vision can be the ultimate competitive advantages,\" Solomon said. Goldman Sachs also honored Nextiva CEO Tomas Gorny as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2026 at the same summit, according to The future of trading.\n\n## UPSIDE Foods' Funding and Facility Plans\n\nUPSIDE Foods has raised more than $600 million from investors including Cargill, Softbank, Temasek, Tyson and Whole Foods, the company said. According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), total funding to date stands at $608 million following a $400 million Series C round in April 2022 led by Abu Dhabi Growth Fund and Temasek, and the company has seven funding rounds on record. The same records show UPSIDE decided in February 2024 to substantially expand operations at its existing EPIC facility in Emeryville, California before continuing the build-out of its planned Rubicon facility in Illinois.\n\n## UPSIDE Foods' Year of Setbacks and Legal Fights\n\nUPSIDE Foods withdrew its $50 million offer to buy Believer Meats' North Carolina cultivated meat facility in August 2026 after conditions were not met, according to Greenqueen. The company said it remains interested and will evaluate next steps once the receiver outlines a new process. In July 2026, Florida officials urged a federal judge to dismiss UPSIDE Foods' constitutional challenge to the state's cultivated meat ban, arguing the company's claims were vague and unsubstantiated, The National Law Review reported.\n\n## What Comes Next for UPSIDE Foods\n\nUPSIDE Foods said it will evaluate next steps once the receiver outlines a new process for the Believer Meats facility. The company continues to sell cultivated chicken through restaurant partnerships and specialty distributors across the United States.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}