Finless Foods is committed to creating a future for seafood where the ocean thrives. Co-Founders Michael Selden and Brian Wyrwas founded the company to create delicious, healthy, and accessible cell-cultured seafood alternatives. Finless Foods offers options for all palates and dietary preferences, providing consumers with a range of responsibly produced food products to diversify their daily habits and pave the way toward a more sustainable future and a healthier ocean.

Brandon Chen is the CEO of Finless Foods. He served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the company from 2019 to early 2025, leading its regulatory submissions, process technology development, and partnerships.

Brandon has long been involved in biotech and conservation. As a technologist and long-time surfer, he’s always been interested in developing new biotechnology to improve the planet and human health. Before joining Finless Foods, his extensive career path centered around working with bioprocess engineers, where he witnessed the scale-up process and commercialization of fermentation-based chemical products.

Brandon loves the inherent diversity at Finless Foods, which is comprised of a team with different backgrounds, cultures, and working styles. He believes inclusion and diversity are key elements for the success of any company. Utilizing his extensive knowledge and skill set, Brandon is charting a new chapter for the company to commercialize sustainable seafood alternatives.

Brian Wyrwas co-founded Finless Foods and has served as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Finless Foods since 2017. Brian was instrumental in establishing Finless’ proprietary cell lines of numerous marine species, including Pacific bluefin tuna. He has been leading the company’s efforts in cell line development, culture media development, and lab operations. His efforts landed him a coveted spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 alongside his co-founder, Michael.

As a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Brian has always recognized science to be the most efficient way to turn “nothing into something.” After graduation, he took his talents to Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, where he worked to grow human cells for medical purposes and assisted in both the laboratory and the clinic, gaining a holistic understanding of how their experiments directly impacted patients. 

While preparing applications for his Ph.D. in 2016, Brian’s career took a sudden, exciting turn. He had beers with his college friend, Michael Selden, who pitched him on a start-up idea based around cell-cultured seafood. After quickly educating himself on the degradation of ocean ecosystems, he knew he wanted to be a part of the cell-cultured revolution. Alongside Selden, the two began by researching and identifying the fastest-depleting fish populations, ultimately focusing on bluefin tuna. Brian then traveled across the globe to harvest the best bluefin cells for experimentation and cultivation of cell-cultured fish filets, and Finless Foods was officially born. 

Michael Selden is the advisor and co-founder of Finless Foods. He served as the CEO of the company from 2017 to early 2025. His background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has played a significant role in his dedication to climate justice and science advocacy. His research has spanned numerous fields, from addressing food crises in Africa to marine conservation in Southeast Asia.

Back in 2014, Michael was inspired by an article in the Atlantic that announced a crucial scientific development: the ability to synthesize horseshoe crab blood, a vital component within many lifesaving vaccines. Michael wondered, “If we can make horseshoe crab blood without horseshoe crabs, why can’t we make seafood without harvesting fish?” One night over beers with Brian Wyras, a friend from college who was working as a research technician at the time, the two fleshed out their ideas. They laid the foundation for what would soon become one of the most innovative companies in the future of agriculture.

In 2017, Finless Foods created the first fish meat grown outside of a living fish to ever be consumed by a person. Eventually, Michael’s relentless passion and innovative vision attracted $3.5 million in seed funding. They even landed him and his co-founder, Brian, a coveted spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for social impact in 2021.

Beyond his dedication to creating a more sustainable future for our oceans, Michael finds a healthy work-life balance by cultivating his interests in music and audio engineering. He enjoys playing instruments like the bass guitar and drums, as well as a modular synthesizer that he built himself. In his spare time, he enjoys reading about political economy as well as science fiction. He currently resides in the Bay Area with his beloved bulldog, Roscoe the Pig.