Jack Dorsey has Square and now Biz Stone and Evan Williams have life after Twitter.
The two co-founders of the San Francisco-based micro-blogging site run an incubator called Obvious that funds up-and-coming startups that work "to make the world smarter, healthier, and just…better."
The company's lastest investment might roll a few eyes or churn a few stomachs even.
The Obvious Corporation has invested in a company that makes plant-based meat substitutes -- obviously.
The move may seem strange but Beyond Meats has some major funding beyond Obvious. The startup funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.
Beyond meats says it makes synthetic meat that tastes and looks like the real thing but spares the life of animals and humans alike, by being a healthier alternative to meat.
It also helps that Stone has been a vegan for a decade.
"Obvious has a goal to build systems that help people work together to make the world a better place," Stone wrote in a statement. "There are many different kinds of systems. The assumption has been that we focus exclusively on software—specifically, Internet software, more specifically, consumer web applications. This makes a lot of sense because it's where we come from, it's where we're strong, it's what we gravitate towards, and it's usually the most effective way to reach millions of people and provoke positive, global change. The web is still our primary area of focus."
He added that his company has dedicated "considerable resources" to Beyond Meat and it is personally committed to the project.
"When we talk about humanity we also think about being humane. We share this planet with other animals that have central nervous systems—they too experience pain and suffering," Stone wrote. "As a result, there is an incomprehensible amount of cruelty and pain that can all be avoided. Gandhi famously said, 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.'"
Stone said he sees Beyond Meat entering a growth industry as the planet's population grows and meat consumption rises and the world races to deal with climate change.
Beyond Meat currently sells synthetic chicken strips in several stores across the Bay Area, including San Jose and San Francisco.
