Dr Nora Khaldi. Image: Nuritas
The company founded by Dr Nora Khaldi will use the funding to scale its operations and expand its global customer base.
Nuritas has secured $42m in Series C funding round to advance its AI-powered platform to discover novel ingredients.
The funding was led by M&G Investments, with McWin Capital Partners also joining as a key investor. Current investors Grosvenor and ECBF also participated in the round.
Founded in 2014 by Dr Nora Khaldi, Nuritas combines IT and life sciences expertise to mine DNA and protein data from plant materials to discover new food components to advance health.
In particular, the company focuses on using AI to discover hard-to-find bioactive molecules called peptides which can be found in plants.
Khaldi, who is a mathematician and bioinformatician, said the Irish start-up is on a mission to “improve the lives of billions” using ingredients that address global health challenges.
“Through our science-first approach, we are fundamentally shifting the paradigm of ingredient discovery, enabling our customers to deliver healthier, differentiated products that meet the needs of today’s consumers,” she said.
According to the company, its AI platform, Magnifier, can identify peptides 10-50 times faster than traditional methods.
Its flagship ingredient, PeptiStrong, is derived from fava beans, and is believed to support muscle generation and repair. According to Nuritas, it has been validated by three human clinical trials, demonstrating benefits such as improved strength, faster recovery and sustained energy.
The fresh funding will be used to scale its operations and expand its global customer base. Additionally, M&G Investments’ Alex Seddon and McWin Capital Partners’ Henry McGovern will join its board of directors.
Seddon said he is looking forward to supporting Nuritas’ “groundbreaking work” to advance healthier outcomes for people.
Nuritas has proven to be a major Irish success story over the years. Having landed celebrity investors in the form of Bono and The Edge just two years after its founding, Nuritas has gone on to land €30m in funding from the European Investment Bank in 2018 and team up with US manufacturer Pharmavite in 2019.
In 2021, the biotech bagged another $45m in funding to expand into the US and build a new headquarters over there and in 2022, its founder Khaldi was honoured at the Diversity in Tech Awards with the Grace Hopper Award, which recognises a woman working in STEM who has made outstanding contributions to the sector.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
