The world's richest man, Bill Gates, and fellow billionaire Richard Branson have joined other business giants investing in a nascent technology to make meat from self-producing animal cells.

The Silicon Valley start-up they back hopes to tap rising consumer demand for protein that's less reliant on feed, land and water.

Richard Branson, who has said he avoids beef because of the damage livestock does to the Amazonian rain forests, reckons one day all meat will "either be clean or plant-based".

Memphis Meats produces beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells in the lab, without raising and slaughtering livestock or poultry. The company has just raised $US17 million ($21.5 million) from investors including Gates, Branson and Cargill, one of the world's largest agricultural companies, according to a statement this week on the San Francisco-based start-up's website.

"I'm thrilled to have invested in Memphis Meats," Virgin Group boss Branson said in an email in response to questions from Bloomberg News.