McWin Capital Partners, a specialist private equity and venture capital firm dedicated to the food ecosystem, has announced that McWin Food Tech Fund I (“McWin”) has invested in Nuritas, a Dublin-based biotechnology company and pioneer in AI – powered peptide discovery, as part of their oversubscribed €40m Series C funding round.
McWin is investing alongside M&G Investments, on behalf of theits Catalyst strategy, a purpose-led strategy supporting businesses that address critical global climate or social challenges. Together, the firms aim to help Nuritas scale sales, expand their product portfolio and grow their team to boost its commercial presence and establish itself as one of the leading companies in the clean nutrition and functional ingredients space. Grosvenor and ECBF also joined the funding round.
Founded in 2014, Nuritas is currently backed by a number of other investors, including Cleveland Avenue and has developed a proprietary AI platform – powered by proprietary data and genomics, which is used to discover and develop a range of holistic products known as bioactive peptides, which can then be integrated into food, supplements, cosmetics, and other products as functional ingredients. The bioactive peptides developed by Nuritas using science-backed methods have been through rigorous, third-party clinical trials and have proven validated to offer a diverse range of health benefits, such as antimicrobial properties, hormone regulation, and enhancing immune functions.
Nuritas already has three commercialised products PeptiStrong, PeptiYouth and PeptiPump and aims to release new products every year with two already planned in 2025. As a science-backed business, the company conducts a minimum of two double-blind, third-party validated clinical trials, enabling customers to attach health claims to their products, which is a significant competitive advantage, as typically, ingredients companies do not provide these. Complementing its strong portfolio of products and ingredients, Nuritas also boasts an impressive list of partnerships and customers, including Givaudan, Nestlé, Mars and Sumitomo Corporation.
As part of this funding round, McWin Capital Partners co-founder Henry McGovern will join Nuritas’ Board of Directors.
Martin Davalos, Partner & Head of Food Tech at McWin Capital Partners, commented:
“We are thrilled to join Nuritas at this pivotal moment in their journey. Henry and I bring complementary expertise, and together with the Nuritas team, we are excited to help accelerate their growth. We are passionate about healthier, safer and more sustainable products and believe consumers worldwide should have the right to access these with ease – and Nuritas are at the forefront of developing technology and products to meet that need”
Dr Nora Khaldi, Founder and CEO of Nuritas, said: “McWin Capital Partners are the perfect partners to join us on this journey and help us continue to innovate and grow the business. Their experience working in the food sector and with companies on the cutting edge of innovation will be a huge asset to our team and to the benefit of our customer network. We look forward to the partnership.”
