Ingredient discovery company Shiru has secured $16m in a new investment round to accelerate its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ingredient discovery initiatives.
The latest funding round brings Shiru’s total funding to $36m.
The round was led by S2G Ventures, with participation from CPT Capital, Nourish Ventures, Lux Capital, and Meach Cove Capital.
This investment is expected to accelerate Shiru’s innovation in ingredient development across various industries.
California-based Shiru iaims to transform the discovery of ingredients and application through its patented Flourish technology.
Shiru’s flagship platform, ProteinDiscovery.ai, is a database of natural proteins sourced from plants and microbes.
Powered by AI, it helps corporate partners in food, personal care, agriculture, and advanced materials to quickly identify and test functional and natural ingredients. This leads to lower research and development (R&D) and development costs, faster time to market, and functional, nature-identical products.
These funds will support Shiru’s growth, expand its ingredient portfolio, and enhance ProteinDiscovery.ai with new partnerships and offerings.
Shiru founder and CEO Jasmin Hume said: “AI-powered discovery isn’t only the future of ingredient innovation, it’s here today, and we’re eager to expand our capabilities across flavour, skincare and agriculture.
“Our technology dramatically reduces development timelines and costs, empowering R&D teams to revolutionise products, categories and industries through our platform, enabling valuable innovation and competitive advantage.”
Shiru’s other recent partnerships support its position in ingredient innovation.
The company has formed a partnership with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition to develop and scale sweet proteins, a long-sought advancement in the food industry.
Additionally, the ingredient discovery company introduced OleoPro, a high-performance, structured fat alternative that recently received a US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent, along with uPro, the active protein ingredient in OleoPro.
Shiru has also secured confirmed partnerships with global firms, including Griffith Foods, to discover, pilot, and scale sustainable food ingredients.
Hume said: “ProteinDiscovery.ai is just the beginning. We’re building a comprehensive platform that will revolutionise ingredient discovery across multiple molecular classes, driving innovation that benefits both industry and consumers.”
In a similar development, last month, digital olfaction firm Osmo launched three new scent ingredients developed using proprietary AI technology.
