AI Accelerates the Discovery of New Consumer Materials, MetaNovas Completes Series A Financing | 36Kr Exclusive

Written by | Wang Fangyu

Edited by | Su Jianxun

36Kr has learned that recently, MetaNovas Biotech has completed its Series A financing. This round of financing is jointly led by GL Ventures and Baoding Venture Capital, with the listed company Ruoyuchen as a co-investor, and MMCapital serving as the exclusive financial advisor for this round. The funds raised in this round will be mainly used for product pipeline experiments, new raw material filings, and international customer expansion.

MetaNovas was established in the Silicon Valley, USA and Shanghai, China in early 2021. The company focuses on the discovery and manufacturing of new consumer health raw materials driven by artificial intelligence. Using AI and a knowledge graph technology at the billion-level, it empowers the development of functional raw materials and formulas with functional polypeptides as the core. In March 2022, the company received nearly 10 million US dollars in angel round financing led by Danlu Capital and Jianyi Capital.

Currently, MetaNovas has built a full-chain AI technology platform covering raw material formulas, biological mechanisms, molecular design, and product development, providing new raw material development and product solutions for many well-known domestic and international leading consumer goods and cosmetics companies. In terms of international customer expansion, relying on its Silicon Valley founding background and cross-border innovation, Metanovas has reached in-depth strategic cooperation with many leading consumer MNCs and high-potential international brands.

After the announcement of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the new paradigm of scientific research, "AI for Science", has attracted much attention. AI4S has already had extensive research in the fields of life sciences, drug development, and material development. MetaNovas has chosen one of the sub-markets - new consumer health materials represented by functional polypeptide materials.

Polypeptides are compounds formed by the covalent connection of two or more amino acids through peptide bonds. They can be used as nutritional supplements in the food industry and for the development of skin care products in the cosmetics industry, with effects such as anti-wrinkle and moisturizing. Therefore, this material has been highly recognized by domestic and foreign daily chemical and health care product enterprises, becoming one of the key points of research and development layout.

"It usually takes more than ten years and a large amount of experimental investment for international daily chemical companies to develop a new material, and the difficulty is very high. However, the process can be accelerated through the AI method." Wang Meijie, the co-founder and CEO of MetaNovas, told 36Kr that the company uses its self-developed AI platform to form a systematic knowledge graph, which can cover the analysis of raw material formulas, the exploration of biological mechanisms, the prediction of core targets, and the generation platform of AIGC, precise molecular design, and the positioning and seeking of new functions of new, functional polypeptides and existing molecules, effectively shortening the development cycle.

Unlike general AI4S startups, MetaNovas has outstanding commercialization capabilities. It has established business partnerships with many domestic and international leading cosmetics enterprises, and the cooperation contents are rich and diverse: covering many aspects such as designing new functional molecules, providing skin care product solutions, analyzing and improving products, developing new raw materials, and researching the mechanism of action of raw materials.

Up to now, MetaNovas has obtained more than 10 patents in China and the United States respectively. With these R & D achievements, MetaNovas has not only emerged and published research results on the international stage such as the IFSCC (International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists) conference, MIT ILP (MIT Industrial Liaison Program), FFA (Future Food Asia), and SCC (Society of Cosmetic Chemists Annual Meeting), but also won the champion of L'Oreal BIG BANG 2023 Annual Beauty Technology Challenge.

In terms of the team, the founding team of MetaNovas is composed of experts from the fields of AI, biology, and computational materials in the United States, covering top scientific research institutions and companies such as NVIDIA, FDA, MIT, and United Healthcare. The scientific advisor of MetaNovas is a member of the academies of the UK and Australia, the discoverer of cyclic peptides, and has many collaborations with this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner David Baker on AI for peptide. After the establishment of the company, it has also recruited doctors from Peking University, Fudan University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The discovery of innovative materials and related work of MetaNovas has published many influential Nature sub-journals.

Investor Views:

The relevant person in charge of GL Ventures said: "As a representative of the new paradigm of application in the field of consumer health materials, MetaNovas can analyze the biological mechanism of raw materials in an extremely short time, accelerate the discovery and application of functional raw materials such as polypeptides, and its products and R & D capabilities have been recognized by many leading domestic and foreign enterprises. MetaNovas not only breaks through the time and cost bottlenecks of traditional R & D, but also opens up a new field of technology application, bringing huge opportunities for the sustainable development of the industry. We are full of confidence in the technical prospects and commercial potential of MetaNovas, and look forward to supporting the company to further expand the international market and promote the industry to develop in a more efficient and sustainable direction."

Zhang Yaodong, the founding partner of Baoding Venture Capital, said: After 30 years of deep cultivation in the cosmetics industry, from the national retail head of Procter & Gamble's Olay to the vice president of L'Oreal China, we have witnessed and experienced the cycle of foreign companies opening the Chinese market and the growth of emerging domestic brands. We have seen the great value that raw material innovation and product innovation can bring to brands. We are very glad to see the emergence of a company like MetaNovas, which uses an efficient and scientific AI platform to solve the core problems in the industry. We also hope that the injection of Baoding Fund and the synergy of industry resources can bring greater assistance to the commercialization of MetaNovas.

Wang Yu, the chairman and general manager of Ruoyuchen, pointed out that this cooperation is a key measure in Ruoyuchen's brand management strategic layout. The two sides will work together to promote the innovative development of the industry and bring more high-quality products to consumers. "AI technology brings new opportunities and values to brand product development. It can accurately understand consumer needs, achieve personalized customization, enhance the innovation and competitiveness of products, and inject a strong driving force for the sustainable development of the brand. No matter how consumer needs change, deeply combining science with needs is always the way for brands to maintain long-term success after the current consumption returns to 'value competition'."