Congratulations Natáur!
Advancing Sustainable Nutrition with Financing from Riptide Ventures, USDA & TEDCO
We’re excited to share an important milestone for Natáur, a bwtech client company that’s redefining what it means to create healthy products in healthy ways.
Natáur recently achieved major funding wins: earning a Pre-Seed financing round from Baltimore-based Riptide Ventures, a USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and a $250,000 investment from TEDCO’s Social Impact Funds.
Together, these awards are accelerating Natáur’s work to market sulfur-containing ingredients made through precision fermentation. The company’s first product, taurine is an essential nutrient for brain development, heart health, and healthy aging; Natáur’s process now makes this key ingredient through a clean, renewable process and breaks the hold that off-shore petroleum-based synthetics have had on the industry.
Mike Leffer, the managing partner of Riptide said “We’re excited about Nataur’s ability to redefine sustainable nutrition through its proprietary technology and early commercial traction and believe the company is well-positioned to partner with leading brands to accelerate industry adoption.”
“Natáur has completely redesigned the biological pathways for synthesizing small molecules containing sulfur. This has been challenging in the past, but after deploying synthetic biology and enzyme engineering, we have had significant breakthroughs, opening up access to multi-billion dollar markets.”, said Frank Turano, the company’s Chief Research Officer.
The USDA SBIR Phase II grant will help Natáur enhance its technology to increase taurine yield and reduce production costs, making its bio-based taurine even more competitive for use in food, feed, and alternative protein products.
TEDCO’s $250,000 investment through its Social Impact Funds provides further momentum toward commercialization. “With TEDCO’s support, we have moved toward scaled production of taurine,” said Daphne Preuss, the company’s CEO. “We’re rapidly reducing the costs of production, bringing our products within reach of products across several market sectors.”
“As diets shift toward more plant-based foods, it can be challenging to get all the nutrients we need,” noted Jean-Luc Park, senior director of TEDCO’s Social Impact Funds. “Natáur is providing a sustainable solution that supports both health and environmental goals.”
Both the USDA and TEDCO’s support reflect Natáur’s growing leadership in sustainable biotech innovation. As Kathleen Turano, a co-founder of the company noted: We’re proud to show that sustainability and science can work hand in hand to create healthier options for people and the planet.”
Here at bwtech, we’re thrilled to see one of our own bwtech companies advancing this important work.
Congratulations, Natáur, on your well-deserved recognition and continued success in bringing sustainable, science-driven solutions to market!
About Natáur
Natáur LLC is a biotechnology company based in Baltimore, Maryland, creating sustainable, petroleum-free ingredients through microbial fermentation. Its proprietary technology produces essential nutrients for food, feed, and personal care industries, helping customers reduce their environmental footprint while meeting consumer demand for clean, healthy products.