It seems like the discourse has shifted to describe even legitimate businesses that are overvalued in the opinion of an author as "pump and dump" or "ponzi scheme"

There is debate about whether their technology is truly novel or whether it is just hype as soy protein based food manufacturing is not exactly new. Their most important technological achievement appears to be the artificial heme that they were able to source from a plant origin.

If someone thinks X won't amount to anything, and is bound to fail, then it would not be a fore-gone conclusion to believe that the whole X endeavor is a pump-and-dump scheme to take money from people who don't "know" that its bound to fail. It's more of an indication of someone's opinion on a subject. I for one am rooting for Beyond and Impossible. The more food choices are available the better.