Nuritas, the Irish digital-biotechnology and R&D company founded by Dr Nora Khaldi, has announced it will triple its workforce in Ireland to over 60 in 2017 as part of a major expansion of its Irish operations. It has also confirmed U2 band members Bono and The Edge as investors in the company. Bono and The Edge recently visited Nuritas' offices in Dublin to mark the announcement of the Irish expansion as well as further growth of its US-based operations.
Nuritas says the additions to its workforce in Ireland will include roles across R&D, business development and other key support functions to drive global growth across many major health areas. Nuritas will continue to base its headquarters in Ireland but also plans new hires and expansion of its US operations following on from the recent opening of its first US office in San Francisco in 2016.
Bono and The Edge, early investors in Facebook and Dropbox amongst others, are the latest high profile investors to be confirmed by Nuritas as part of their seed round investment, which closed earlier this year. They join Salesforce Founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, as well as the renowned US tech entrepreneur Ali Partovi in backing the company.
Nuritas has financial support spanning three continents which also includes New Protein Capital, a Singapore-based institutional investor.
Today's announcement comes after Nuritas' recent award of €3M in EU and associated funding to help bring to market a breakthrough food ingredient, considered a potential world-first in diabetes prevention, for which clinical trials are commencing shortly.
Founded in 2014 by mathematician and computational biologist, Dr Nora Khaldi, Nuritas is an Irish headquartered biotech company that uses artificial intelligence, deep learning and DNA analysis to predict and provide access to the most health-benefiting components hidden within food called peptides that can manage and improve human health.
Speaking recently at Nuritas’ headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, The Edge said: "When we first started talking with Nuritas, I was blown away with how their ideas could be used to significantly improve the health of billions of people globally. Using cutting-edge technology and really smart approaches to identify disease-beating peptides in food is something that has never been done before.
"To see this team unlock what nature has already created for the betterment of mankind, it’s just incredible. We want to bring forward and support innovative, world-changing ideas so this is a perfect fit."
Emmet Browne, CEO of Nuritas, said: "Growing up in Dublin watching U2 gain global impact and recognition, makes today a really special occasion as the Edge and Bono are now helping us on a similar journey. I'm thrilled to have them on board and they have already provided enormous support and enthusiasm, proactively connecting and opening doors to help our growth and expansion. Just as they started out performing in front of a small few and are now playing before a global audience of billions, we aim to do exactly the same with Nuritas."
Nuritas Founder, Dr Nora Khaldi, said: "We aim high and think outside the box at Nuritas which is something that Bono and the Edge have done throughout their careers. We are delighted to have them join the Nuritas family and embrace our mission of improving the health of billions of people around the world."
About Nuritas
Founded in 2014 by mathematician and computational biologist, Dr Nora Khaldi, Nuritas is revolutionising the discovery of novel, natural and scientifically proven active ingredients that can manage and improve human health. Dr Khaldi has Irish roots and moved to Ireland from France to further her education and eventually established Nuritas in Dublin where it is headquartered to this day.
The company's disruptive computational approach to discovery uses artificial intelligence, deep learning and DNA analysis to, for the first time ever, rapidly and efficiently predict and then provide access to the most health-benefiting components hidden within food called peptides.
Nuritas has received global recognition for the impact its innovative technology will have on the future of food and health. This includes winning the overall Innovation Award at the Forbes Reinventing America Summit in 2015. This highly selective competition run by Forbes magazine aimed to identify the company most likely to solve the food and wellness challenges of the 21st century. The company has been recognized as one of the 21 most innovative startups globally by Business Insider and recently obtained awards commending the company’s innovative work at Supply Side West 2016, the world’s leading ingredient and solutions congress, and from Cambridge University.
The Irish government also chose Nuritas as the sole representative of national innovation for the 2015 EU SME Summit. In turn, the EU Commission further recognised the company in 2016 for its revolutionary work by selecting it as one of Europe’s top 10 most innovative start up companies.