Danone NA, Brightseed partner to explore plant benefits using AI

Image courtesy of Brightseed

Danone North America (San Francisco, CA), producer of plant-based brands such as Silk and So Delicious Dairy Free, partnered with the bioscience company Brightseed, creator of an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that maps novel plant nutrients to human health, to investigate plant sources for unknown health and nutrition benefits. 

“Brightseed’s AI technology gives us deep insight into the plant kingdom, finds nutrients that we know are important for promoting health, and accelerates the validation of these findings,” said Takoua Debeche, SVP research and innovation at Danone North America, in a press release. “As a leader in plant-based food and beverages, Danone North America values external partnerships that can help us improve and optimize the taste, texture and nutritional aspects of our products and contribute to our biodiversity vision.” 

Starting with soy, the multi-phased partnership will work to identify new molecular connections between compounds present in Danone’s raw soy and human health benefits previously unlinked to soy. This would enable Danone to accelerate nutrient innovation across its brands.

“At Brightseed, we believe that we’re at the tipping point of food for health and wellness,” said Sofia Elizondo, co-founder and COO of Brightseed, in a press release. “We analyze plants at the molecular level in order to understand the specific roles that nutrients play in the proper functioning of our bodies. We’re thrilled to be working with Danone North America as they are equally committed to bringing health through food. Danone North America also believes in the important role that high quality, nutrient-rich diets play in supporting human health, while delivering across brands and products that consumers trust and love.”