Protera announces final closure of $10m financing round

Protera, a Chilean food-tech start-up that develops proteins using AI, has announced the final close of a $10 million Series A financing round.

The financing round was led by Sofinnova Partners, a life sciences venture capital firm specialising in healthcare and sustainability, while baked goods producer Bimbo Group and ICL Group’s food-tech accelerator – ICL Planet – also joined the round.

Protera uses a proprietary deep learning algorithm to screen amino acid combinations and predict their properties. The start-up claims that the platform can design proteins at a high speed and accuracy, aiming to create healthier and more sustainable ingredients.

According to Protera, the financing will accelerate the scale-up of Proteraguard, a protein that reportedly extends the shelf-life of foods and replaces widely used chemical ingredients with a natural alternative.

Protera is currently scaling up its manufacturing process and validating its protein-based ingredients with several multinational companies.

Leonardo Álvarez, chief executive officer and co-founder of Protera, said: “We are excited to continue our strong partnership with Sofinnova Partners, which is known for being a company builder in industrial biotechnology, with a strong focus on entrepreneurs and science.

“We feel fortunate to add two industrial partners, Bimbo Group, the world’s largest baked goods producer, and ICL Group, experts in ingredient manufacturing and distribution, as we position ourselves to go fully downstream and deploy products on the market.”

Jose Manuel Ramirez, director of Bimbo Ventures, added: “Protera’s technology aims to solve real challenges in the food sector, such as increasing the shelf life of bread, to diminish food waste and increase food security. We wish to support the company, by testing and validating its technology.”