U2-Backed Startup Nets $42M in Series C Funding for AI-Led Vegan Peptide Platform

Irish startup Nuritas has closed a $42M Series C investment round to scale up its AI-powered discovery platform for plant-based peptides.

In its bid to greenify the peptide industry and improve public health, Dublin-based biotech firm Nuritas has received fresh funding to the tune of $42M.

The oversubscribed Series C round was led by M&G Investments, with participation from McWin Capital Partners and current investors Grosvenor and ECBF. It takes Nuritas’s total funding above $117M, and follows a $45M Series B round three years ago.

The startup, whose early investors include Bono and The Edge from U2, will use the funds to scale up its artificial-intelligence-led (AI) Magnifier platform, through which it identifies and commercialises rare plant-based peptides faster than the industry standard. It further aims to expand its B2B client base, and reach a wider range of consumers across the globe.

“We are thrilled to welcome M&G’s Catalyst team and McWin Capital Partners, who share our vision of making healthier ingredients accessible to billions of people globally,” said Nuritas founder and CEO Nora Khaldi. “This investment, alongside the addition of experienced board members, will propel our mission to new heights.”

Nuritas to launch new peptide ingredients in 2025

Peptides are a class of short-chain amino acids that act as building blocks of proteins like collagen, keratin, and elastin. They provide a host of benefits to the body, including anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory, skin-repairing, and muscle-building properties.

These protein precursors can be sourced from both animals and plants, but despite their health benefits, most peptide ingredients today fail to meet the wellness demands of consumers, according to Nuritas. Moreover, developing new health-centric products can take decades and costs tens or even hundreds of millions.

The Irish company is hoping to change that by discovering new bioactive peptides in various plants, which can then be integrated into food products, supplements, cosmetics, and other functional offerings.

It claims to have built the world’s largest peptide knowledge base, and its Magnifier platform leverages proprietary data and genomics to identify peptides 10 to 50 times faster than traditional methods. It is said to have an “industry-leading clinical success rate” of over 80%, far higher than the industry standard of low single digits.

Nuritas’s flagship product, PeptiStrong, is derived from fava beans and supports recovery, improved strength, and muscle generation and repair. It received GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status from the Food and Drug Administration in the US earlier this month, and is already part of consumer products across multiple continents, including its own Elio Restore brand.

It recently added PeptiYouth to its lineup, which reduces wrinkle depth and smoothes the skin by promoting collagen production. The ingredient is featured in skincare products in the US and Asia, and Nuritas plans to introduce three new clinically validated vegan peptide offerings in 2025.

Science-first approach wins over major clients

Having been around for a decade, Nuritas has some big names in its client list, from Nestlé and Mars to Givaudan and Sumitomo Corporation. And its peptide ingredients are present in products spanning pharmacies, retail outlets, online platforms, and specialty stores.

The company says its ingredients help partners increase their market penetration and differentiation with innovative, evidence-based products, as well as address consumer needs with solutions validated by clinical trials.

“Our mission is to improve the lives of billions by creating ingredients that address pressing global health challenges,” said Khaldi. “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.”

Martin Davalos, partner and head of food tech at McWin Capital Partners, added: “We are passionate about healthier, safer and more sustainable products and believe consumers worldwide should have the right to access these with ease – and Nuritas are at the forefront of developing technology and products to meet that need.”

Other startups working with vegan peptides include VeCollal, Geltor, and Active Concepts. Meanwhile, Croda Beauty is leveraging plant cell culture for its active ingredients, while Avant has rolled out skincare actives made from cultivated marine cells.

Meanwhile, Shiru is also using AI to discover plant-derived and microbial proteins, which it sells to corporate partners on its ProteinDiscovery.ai marketplace.