What You Should Know:
– Nuritas, a biotech company that uses proprietary AI to discover plant-based actives (peptides) and make the products we consume healthier and more sustainable raises $45M in Series B funding led by Cleveland Avenue, LLC. The round also included participation from Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, VisVires New Protein, U2’s Bono and The Edge, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Ali Partovi.
– Founded in 2014, Nuritas’ computational approach to discovery uses artificial intelligence, deep learning, and genomics to rapidly and efficiently predict and then unlock the most health-benefiting components hidden within plants and natural food sources, called peptides.
– The new funding will accelerate Nuritas’ global expansion and support its mission to unlock the power of nature to make many of the products we consume daily healthier, safer and more sustainable.
What are Peptides?
Peptides are smaller versions of proteins. Both proteins and peptides are made up of amino acids, but peptides contain far fewer amino acids than proteins. Like proteins, peptides are naturally present in foods. Peptides are easier for the body to absorb than proteins because they are smaller and more broken down than proteins. They can more easily penetrate skin and intestines which helps them enter the bloodstream more quickly.
World’s Largest Peptide Knowledge Base
Nuritas has established the world’s largest peptide knowledge base. Peptides are smaller versions of proteins with the same nutritional power, but with added highly specific benefits including various active functionalities and health properties. Many of these are highly valuable to humans but have not yet been harnessed for their full potential. Nuritas uses a proprietary AI and genomics platform called Nπϕ™ (Nuritas Peptide Finder) to rapidly 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 10 times faster and with much greater accuracy than traditional discovery methods, significantly reducing costs.
Nuritas introduced PeptAide™ 4, the world’s first AI-discovered ingredient in rice (together with BASF). In addition, Nuritas recently launched two new clinically proven ingredients: PeptiYouth™, discovered from peas and supporting skin health, and PeptiStrong™, discovered in fava-beans and supporting muscle health. Both are being formulated by customers for early 2022 market entry.
“It has been a landmark year for Nuritas, resulting in the expansion of our peptide portfolio, growing the commercial team and developing key global partnerships,” said Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas. “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.”
