BERKELEY, CALIF. — Animal-free dairy protein maker Perfect Day raised $90 million in a pre-series E financing round. The funding round was led by internal investors.

In the wake of the funding announcement, co-founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi will step down from their operational management roles to focus on future opportunities, the company said. Pandya and Gandhi founded Perfect Day in 2014 and launched its first dairy-free ice cream product in 2019, according to the company. Perfect Day produces dairy proteins through fermentation in microflora instead of cows.

TM Narayan, president of Perfect Day, will take over as interim chief executive officer. Narayan joined the company in September 2021 as its chief business operations officer and was later elevated to president in October 2022. Aftab Mathur and Patrick Zhang, newly hired co-chairmen of the board from Temasek and Horizons Ventures, will support Narayan in his transition to interim CEO, the company said.

“This has been a journey we could have only dreamed of when we first started this company in April of 2014,” Pandya said. “Because of the incredible people behind this business, we’ve de-risked world-changing technology, and we’ve brought it to life globally across over a dozen categories. Under TM’s interim leadership, Perfect Day is now in the right position for us to let the next chapter of leadership drive its path forward.”

The company’s most recent funding round in September 2021 raised $350 million in a series D funding round. In June 2020, the company raised an additional $160 million in a Series C round through a new tranche, and in December 2019, the company raised $140 million in a Series C funding round. 

“It is an honor to be a part of leading Perfect Day into its next chapter of impact, and to continue building a kinder, greener tomorrow with this mission-driven team,” Narayan said. “Ryan and Perumal achieved well beyond what anyone could have imagined possible when they founded Perfect Day in 2014, and we are now laser-focused on scaling that vision and securing a resilient future for the business and our planet.”