Anti-aging skin care: Nuritas raises US$45M to scale AI-powered Peptide Discovery Platform

12 Nov 2021 --- Nuritas, a biotech company that uses proprietary AI to discover plant-based bioactive peptides for use in the cosmetic space, has netted a US$45 million Series B funding round to strengthen the development of sustainable consumer products, including in the skin care segment.

The new funding will accelerate Nuritas’ global expansion and support its strategy to “unlock the power of nature” to make products healthier, safer and more sustainable.

“It has been a landmark year, resulting in the expansion of our peptide portfolio, growing the commercial team and developing key global partnerships,” says 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.”

Peptides for skin
Nuritas claims to have established the world’s most extensive peptide knowledge base. Peptides are smaller versions of proteins with the same nutritional power but with added highly specific benefits. 

In terms of skin care, peptides can help defend the skin against environmental aggressors and the physical effects of aging. Several different kinds of peptides can be found in beauty products to help maintain the external structure of the skin by keeping collagen and elastin functioning properly.

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 ten times faster and with much greater accuracy than traditional discovery methods, significantly reducing costs, stresses the company.PeptiYouth improves cellular regeneration with a unique double action which increases cellular matrix reconstruction and reduces inflammation. 

Anti-aging effects of natural peptides
The company’s science-proven bioactive peptides are unlocked from plants and natural food sources with applications across cosmetics as well as food technology, medical food, supplements and functional food. 

One of Nuritas’ solutions is PeptiYouth, the first clinically-tested AI-discovered anti-aging molecule. This novel peptide ingredient was discovered for its ability to slow down cellular aging.

PeptiYouth improves cellular regeneration with a unique double action which increases cellular matrix reconstruction and reduces inflammation.

According to the company, it’s a cruelty-free solution that significantly reduces wrinkle depth after 28 days of use, specifically reducing the appearance of crow’s feet around the eye. 

Nuritas says PeptiYouth is being formulated for early 2022 market entry. 

Investors
Nπϕ has attracted high-profile partnerships so far, including Nestlé, Mars, Sumitomo Corporation and Pharmavite.

Meanwhile, total funding to date stands at US$75 million. 

Early investors in previous funding rounds include U2’s Bono and The Edge.

This latest investment involved Cleveland Avenue, LLC, Grosvenor’s Wheatsheaf Group, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Singapore-based Vertex Holdings, Nutresa Ventures/ Veronorte and CJ., Cultivian Sandbox Ventures and VisVires New Protein.

Edited by Gaynor Selby