Nuritas scores US$45M to expand globally and scale peptide discovery platform
12 Nov 2021 --- Nuritas has raised US$45 million in a series B funding round, which it aims to use toward expanding its global growth and building its US headquarters.
According to the Ireland-based company, a key focus will be scaling its peptide discovery platform. Its total funding to date is US$75 million.
“Our new investors bring a wealth of invaluable expertise and this latest round will help to build our US headquarters, continue to expand our team, scale our platform to discover more life-changing ingredients and accelerate our route to market,” says Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas.
Using peptides for health benefits
Armed with the funding, Nuritas will further explore how many of the daily products used by consumers can become healthier, safer and more sustainable.
The company has the world’s largest peptide knowledge base. It uses AI technology NπΦ – pronounced en-pi-fy or Nuritas Peptide Finder – to analyze billions of hidden peptides in plants and natural food sources to predict and identify how they impact specific health areas, molecular pathways or receptors.
The Nuritas platform has been shown to identify and develop new bioactives ten times faster and with much greater accuracy than traditional discovery methods, significantly reducing costs.
“Nuritas’ AI-powered, peptide discovery platform Nπϕ is a novel and proprietary platform technology that offers unprecedented value to the future of our health and our planet,” says Randall Lewis, managing director of Cleveland Avenue
The technology has wide-ranging applications that have attracted high-profile companies.
Key investors
The investment was led by Chicago-based Cleveland Avenue and includes Grosvenor’s Wheatsheaf Group, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Singapore-based Vertex Holdings, Nutresa Ventures/ Veronorte and CJ. Cultivian Sandbox Ventures and VisVires New Protein.
Other early investors include U2’s Bono and The Edge, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Ali Partovi, the company notes. It has also grown its advisory board.
“We are pleased to join Nuritas as it prepares to launch new consumer products alongside an impressive pipeline of novel molecules and ongoing partnerships with global consumer product businesses,” notes Stephan Dolezalek, executive director at Grosvernor’s Wheatsheaf Group.
Utilizing technology
The company’s NπΦ technology was used to discover natural rice-based peptides that impact inflammation and improve physical test results in an elderly population. The applications were expected to focus toward healthy aging for all age groups.
Nuritas and Pharmavite previously partnered to work together on bioactive peptides in supplements in a bid to “transform” the dietary supplements industry. Nπϕ has attracted high-profile partnerships and customers, including Nestlé, Mars, Sumitomo Corporation and Pharmavite.
In a previous interview with NutritionInsight, Nuritas outlined that its technology could be used to even tackle issues such as malnutrition, overnutrition and undernutrition.
Its collaboration with the food industry was highlighted earlier this year when Sumitomo Chemical announced it would harness Nuritas’ AI peptide discovery tech to support food production systems for a growing, global population.
Edited by Andria Kades
