AI is increasingly being applied to protein design, the process of creating new proteins with specific target properties. The applications of protein design are myriad, but it is a promising method for discovering drug-based treatments to fight disease, as well as creating new home care, agricultural, food-based, and material products.
Arzeda, one of many vendors developing AI techniques for designing proteins, was founded by a group of researchers at the University of Washington's Baker Institute in 2009. After nine years of building the company, Arzeda founders Alexandre Zanghellini, Daniela Grabs, Eric Althoff and David Baker decided to take their Seattle-based protein design platform to market and receive outside venture capital investment.
“In industrial biotech, going from lab to commercial scale is hard and many companies fail,” Alzeda CEO Zangherini told TechCrunch. “With so many companies in the space going out of business, our success in raising capital in a challenging fundraising environment is a testament to our progress.”
Zangherini said Alzeda’s technology combines “biophysics-based” AI models with generative AI techniques such as large-scale language and diffusion models. To train these models, Alzeda uses a proprietary dataset of protein sequences and structures that the startup compiled itself.
Rather than biomedical applications, Alzeda is focused on redesigning chemical-heavy products to use alternative, ostensibly more sustainable, AI-designed proteins and enzymes. The startup's first product is a natural stevia-based sweetener for an unnamed consumer brand. Other products in the pipeline include laundry detergent for Unilever and biodegradable materials developed in collaboration with WL Gore.
Alzeda is also responsible for validating and manufacturing the proteins and enzymes it designs, and generates revenue both from the sale of its own proteins and enzymes and from the sale of final products that the company creates in collaboration with contract partners.
“We have developed filters based on knowledge of structural biology and biophysics to further screen designs before moving to experimental testing,” Zangherini says. “All our designs are experimentally analyzed, allowing us to filter out illusions.”
Alzeda's strategy has proven successful: The 70-person company is profitable, and in addition to Unilever and Gore, Alzeda counts AAK and the Department of Defense as clients, according to Zangherini. He would not say much about the Pentagon deal, other than to say it has “shown very promising results” and “has generated a lot of interest.”
This growth has enabled Alzeda to close an oversubscribed $38 million funding round led by Sofinova Partners, with participation from Fall Line Capital, Sucden Ventures, Silver Blue, Gore's corporate venture arm, Continental Grain Company, Bunge Ventures and Lewis & Clark Agrifood. Zangherini said the proceeds, which bring Alzeda's total raised to $83 million, will be used to expand production of Alzeda's natural sweeteners and help commercialize other enzymes in the company's portfolio.
“Our syndicate brings together leading industrial and agrifood biotech investors with the expertise, network and capital necessary to support Alzeda's growth,” Zangherini said. “This latest equity round, combined with our revenue traction, provides us with a comfortable runway and a clear path to 'enterprise EBITDA positive.'”