Would you eat a lab-grown burger? ‘Synthiburgers’ could be on sale within two years after Bill Gates and Richard Branson invest

In the near future, ‘guilt-free’ burgers which have only ‘lived’ in a petri dish as a mass of cells might replace ones made from real meat.

A pioneering American company which aims to sell ‘synthetic’ meat just secured $17 million (£13 million) in investment from venture capital firm DFJ which previously backed Tesla and Skype.

Investors in DFJ include Microsoft chief Bill Gates and Virgin’s Richard Branson – and Memphis Meats now hopes to quadruple its employees.

The firm ‘grows’ meat products from stem cells, and can create edible meat in less than a month.

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Memphis Meat now hopes that its products could be on sale within two years – with meatballs and sausages designed by top chefs.

Branson said: ‘I’m thrilled to have invested in Memphis Meats. I believe that in 30 years or so we will no longer need to kill any animals and that all meat will either be clean or plant-based, taste the same and also be much healthier for everyone.

Memphis Meats says that the new lab-grown meat will save animals’ lives – and uses 90% less water and land to produce.

More than one trillion cells can be grown from one cell taken from a cow – enough for ten tonnes of meat.

Last year, Memphis Meats announced it had ‘grown’ meatballs in a laboratory using stem cells from animals – and claims ‘synthiburgers’ could be on sale within five years.

Co-founder Uma Valeti says, ‘It is sustainable as well as cruelty free. We are growing meat which is safer and healthier.’

‘We are motivated by the thought that people can buy it off the shelf.’

‘Our goal is to be in restaurants in three years and retail in five years. In 2021, we want to be in retail or even earlier.’

Several other companies are also racing to produce lab-grown meat.

Dr Mark Post – who created a ‘Frankenburger’ which cost £250,000 in 2013 – has now attracted 10 million Euros (£7m) in investment and hopes to develop a factory which can mass produce ‘cultured beef’.