Appoints Experienced Biotechnology Entrepreneur as CEO
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. June 26, 2019 – Aromyx Corp., a leading company in applying biotechnology and data science to capture unique sensory data, today announced that it has closed a $3M Series Seed equity financing round. The round was led by Ulu Ventures with participation from Rationalwave Capital Partners, Merus Capital, CE Venture Capital, Stanford University and Radicle Growth. The investment will be used to grow the scientific team, as well as to continue to execute on a number of technology development projects. The company also announced the appointment of Dr. Josh Silverman as CEO.
“The scientific community has long struggled with the ability to digitally replicate taste and smell,” said Clint Korver, managing director of Ulu Ventures. “Aromyx has cracked the code on this issue by measuring the same signals our sensing organs send to the brain. Ulu is delighted to partner with a company on the forefront of such a technological breakthrough that has countless commercial applications and the ability to disrupt a wide range of markets. Aromyx will revolutionize product development and manufacturing for any industry that cares about how their product tastes or smells, and we are thrilled to be working alongside them on this incredible journey.”
Aromyx’s EssenceChip™ technology is a biosensor that scientifically records flavors and fragrances, with reproducible results, for use in real-world environments. Aromyx’s proprietary Allegory Database™ provides a basis for machine learning to analyze flavors and fragrances in a way that was not possible before.
“Aromyx is at the forefront of creating an entirely new sensory data platform,” newly appointed CEO Dr. Josh Silverman said. “Taste and smell are fundamental to the way each individual interacts with the world every day, yet the current tools for understanding these senses are subjective and imprecise. Aromyx’s technology has the capability to solve painful problems across multiple industries from quality control and taste in the food and ag space, to real-time diagnostics for a wide range of diseases, to flavor and fragrance refinement. I am excited to work with the team to help bring the company to the next level.”
Dr. Silverman brings two decades of experience in biotechnology research, development and commercialization to Aromyx. Before joining Aromyx, Josh was founder and served and Chief Technology Officer of Calysta, Inc., where he led development of technology converting methane gas to protein using bacteria. Dr. Silverman will serve as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Calysta and will continue to support the development and commercialization of its methane fermentation platform. Previously, he participated in the founding and financing of four other biotechnology companies (Avidia, Diartis, Siluria and Versartis). He has also held positions at two public biotechnology companies, Maxygen, Inc. and Amgen, Inc. Dr. Silverman earned his B.Sc. in Molecular Biology from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University.
Commenting on Dr. Silverman’s appointment as CEO of Aromyx, Chris Hanson, the company’s founder and chairman said, “Josh is an experienced biotechnology entrepreneur with a successful history of developing novel technology platforms, and we look forward to leveraging his experience to drive Aromyx to the next phase of growth.”
Prior to this round of financing, Aromyx won the Radicle Challenge at the World Agri-Tech 2019 Pitch Day in San Francisco. Selected from a pool of eight finalists, Aromyx, Corp. earned a $250K investment and a custom acceleration program from Radicle Growth. The Radicle Challenge reviewed hundreds of start-ups representing technology breakthroughs across ag and food applied to participate in the Pitch Day.
About Aromyx
Aromyx uses the biological receptors from the human nose to create digital representations of smell sensory data for multiple applications. This technology allows Aromyx to quantify, reproduce and understand the sense of smell in an unprecedented way. By enabling clear, reproducible digital representations of smell and taste, Aromyx technology has the potential to be disruptive across a wide range of industries. Aromyx products and services are in use at several Fortune 500 companies, in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food & beverage and consumer packaged goods. Aromyx has its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Learn more at http://www.aromyx.com.
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Alexis Pascal
