VitroLabs was founded in 2016 by Ingvar Helgason, a professional with a background in the fashion industry, and Dusko Ilic, an experienced stem cell biologist with expertise in tissue engineering. The company uses a similar process as in the creation of cultivated (also known as clean) meat: a sample of animal cells is placed in a cultivator with the nutrients necessary for growth and division. The natural growth process occurs more efficiently in the cultivator and the resulting cells and tissues are identical to their animal-based counterparts.