Brightseed, a biotechnology startup founded in 2017, has announced that it has raised $68 million in Series B funding led by Singapore state investor Temasek. Those who also participated in this round include AgFunder, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, S2G Ventures, CGC Ventures, and Germin8.

For the uninitiated, Brightseed uses an artificial intelligence discovery platform known as Forage, to analyse millions of bioactive compounds in nature and map their potential applications. It has mapped up two million plant compounds to date, with dozens in various stages of validation for metabolic health, digestive health, cognitive health, sugar management, maternal health and immunity.

The start-up has partnered with food and beverage formulators, including Danone, Ocean Spray and Olam Food Ingredients, to understand the deeper prognosis of the nutrients, which were earlier not possible to find.

Jim Flatt, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brightseed, “Nature holds an incredibly rich and largely uncharted source of powerful, natural bioactives that create health benefits in humans, and we’re now able to access and integrate them into products for food and health industries.”

He also added that discovering and mapping natural bioactives to human health benefits is just the first step for Brightseed and they are launching clinically-studied ingredients and insights to illuminate the hidden potential in nature to restore human health.

With the latest funding, the biotech start-up plans to accelerate natural compound discovery and expand their operations globally. Currently, they plan to support the launch of the company’s first ingredient from a new commercialisation center in North Carolina, US. 

Sofia Elizondo, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, said, “Consumers are increasingly looking for natural and accessible solutions to restore their health, but industry has been severely limited by a lack of tools and technologies to look more deeply into nature’s potential to do that. Brightseed is building the opportunity space for health innovation rooted in nature and delivering a clear path forward for clinical validation. We are eager to make our bioactives readily accessible for food and health industries as we move from lab to shelf and embrace consumers along the journey of bioactive discovery.”