Prolific Machines propels alt-protein production with light and AI

07 Jun 2024 --- US-based innovator Prolific Machines is “ushering in a new era of biomanufacturing” by harnessing light and AI to grow and control cells through a photomolecular biomanufacturing platform that can optimize cultivated meat, nutritional protein production and other food tech innovations.

Deniz Kent, CEO of Prolific Machines, Max Huisman, CTO and Declan Jones, CIO, founded the company in 2020 to find a “more efficient and sustainable” way to manufacture the critical everyday products, like food and medicine.

Over the past four years, Prolific has developed a platform that aims to enable commercial partners to “more efficiently” produce higher-quality biological products across cellular agriculture, nutritional protein production and more. 

Food Ingredients First catches up with the CEO to dive deeper into the light-harnessing technology for its F&B applications.

“Methods currently used to make bioproducts are limited to imprecise, inefficient and expensive control levers, like temperature, chemicals and proteins, to control cells indirectly. Prolific first-of-its-kind photomolecular platform brings together safe and effective tools — light, bioengineering, hardware and AI — to unlock unparalleled control and precision,” Kent tells us.

“Photomolecular biology is the use of light and AI to precisely control and optimize cellular behavior to more efficiently produce superior bioproduct solutions across wide-ranging applications, from food to pharmaceuticals.”

Max Huisman, CTO; Deniz Kent, CEO; and Declan Jones, CIO of  Prolific Machines (Image credit: Prolific  Machines).“Prolific unlocks dynamic control by pulsating light in specific patterns, intensities, and wavelengths to activate cellular functions when and where it matters most, which is a game changer for biotechnology.”

How does it work?
Living organisms can sense light because of light-sensitive proteins (LSP), Kent explains.

“These naturally occurring proteins are found everywhere, from plants and bacteria to human retinas and exist to detect and respond to light. They can do this very quickly to cause action in cells within seconds.”

“By attaching LSPs to proteins that you want to control within the cell, Prolific makes it possible to control subcellular biology using light precisely.”

Light acts as a signal and interacts with these LSP to precisely control cells across key functions. Prolific uses its photo molecular biology platform to leverage optogenetics tools, alongside patented hardware and AI, to “unlock unparalleled cellular precision” and dynamic control over any cell function in any cell type to optimize food production.

Toward sustainable F&B
Kent believes Prolific is co-developing the “future of biology” with innovators across cultivated meat, nutritional and therapeutic proteins, disease models, tissue engineering, cell and gene therapy and beyond.

The light-based technology holds potential in cultivated meat applications.“We have proven that we can successfully control several cellular processes using light. This enables unparalleled control in both the space and the time axes, which is critical to making cheaper and higher quality products,” he adds.

He cites the technology’s applications in nutritional proteins used in supplements and infant formula, whole cuts of cultured meat and “other innovations never before possible.”

He also feels the light-induced biomanufacturing process has sustainability benefits for the industry.

“Our process is more efficient and offers an alternative to produce nature-identical, functional proteins without the reliance on animal systems and commodity agriculture.”

Existing production processes that rely on inefficient, unscalable systems and tools, but thanks to the incredible efficiency of light, we offer a way to create a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow.”

Funding for future
Prolific has closed an initial round of US$55 million Series B financing, including convertible notes, for a total of US$86.5 million in funding to date, notes the company. It will use the cash injection to accelerate the platform commercialization through partnerships in the months ahead.

Prolific’s bioreactors expose cells to light at specific intensities and colors to drive cellular behavior (Image credit: Prolific  Machines).Kent reveals that several investors and commercial partners have shown an interest in the technology and will join the company in scaling its impact. The first rounds of investment were led by The Ki Tua Fund, the corporate venture arm of Fonterra Co-operative Group, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield, SOSV, Shorewind Capital, Darco Capital, Conti Ventures, In-Q-Tel and others.

The first applications of this innovation will soon be announced in upcoming partnerships, which will give F&B formulators more control over biological production to “biomanufacture high-value bioproducts” more efficiently.

“While we’ve proven applications and benefits across nutritional protein production and cultivated meat, we can’t wait to see how our partners use our technology as we haven’t even yet scratched the surface of what’s possible in food and beverage and beyond, into applications including therapeutic proteins, disease models, tissue engineering, cell and gene therapy and more,” concludes Kent.

By Insha Naureen