USA – Brightseed, a San Francisco, CA- and Raleigh, NC-based based biosciences company and creator of Forager®, a computational platform that illuminates the connections between nature and human health, raised $68m in Series B funding.
The round was led by Temasek, with participation from existing and new investors. The company intends to use the funds to advance natural compound discovery and clinical validation, and launch its first FDA-GRAS ingredient from a new commercialization center in Raleigh, North Carolina.Co-founded by Lee Chae, PhD.; Sofia Elizondo; Jim Flatt, PhD., Brightseed provides Forager, which systematically identifies natural bioactives and maps their connection to human health benefits. This accelerated discovery of health-benefiting compounds has potential implications for food & agriculture, nutrition policy and nature-based drug design.To date, Forager has mapped more than two million plant compounds – and dozens are in various stages of validation across multiple health territories, including metabolic health, digestive health, cognitive health, sugar management, maternal health and immunity.Brightseed’s first discovery, two bioactive compounds identified in upcycled hemp hulls, will launch later this year as an FDA GRAS whole-food ingredient for gut health. To support the launch of the ingredient business, the company is opening a second location in the “Research Triangle Park” of Raleigh, North Carolina. Brightseed’s Science Center in South San Francisco will continue to be the home of its plant library, world-class technology stack, and compound discovery efforts – informed by metabolomics, bioinformatics, natural products chemistry, biomedicine, and translational and clinical research teams. The company is partnering with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. in both regions to customize facilities to support its growing life sciences footprint and specialized ingredient production.Partners include Danone SA, Ocean Spray, ofi (olam food ingredients) and Pharmavite, makers of Nature Made® vitamins.11/05/2022
