Lembas, an AI-based bioactive peptide discovery company, announced it has emerged from stealth mode with a scientific breakthrough in activating GLP-1, the key hormone that helps regulate appetite and metabolism. And the company closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of $3.6 million led by FLORA Ventures, which also incubated the company, with participation from a group of leading venture capital funds, Bluestein Ventures, Fresh Fund, Longevity Venture Partners, Maia Ventures, Siddhi Capital, Mandi Ventures, and SDH.
Problem being addressed: A majority of US adults are overweight or obese, but the new GLP-1 pharmaceuticals are out of reach for many due to lack of accessibility, prohibitive costs, and severe side effects. This creates an urgent opportunity for the food and supplement industries to provide evidence-based solutions that help consumers manage their weight more naturally and effectively.
GLP-1 Edge: Lembas is pioneering the next generation of science-backed bioactive ingredients for the functional food and supplements industry, with its first solution, GLP-1 Edge, targeting the global weight management industry. GLP-1 Edge is designed to naturally regulate appetite by enhancing the body’s own GLP-1 response. It integrates easily into bars, shakes, snacks, beverages and supplements, bringing metabolic health into consumers’ everyday routines.
The company’s proprietary computational AI-based discovery platform rapidly screens, analyzes, and designs food-grade bioactive peptides that work with the natural metabolic mechanisms. In less than a year, Lembas discovered and designed food-grade bioactives that demonstrated positive cell and animal model results, successfully stimulating GLP-1 secretion into the blood.
Even though Lembas’ initial focus is on natural GLP-1 for weight management and metabolic health, its computational platform has been developed to accelerate the discovery of new science-backed functional ingredients across a broader pipeline of health and wellbeing benefits.
Executive team: Launched in 2024, Lembas is backed by a licensed university patent-pending technology and led by an accomplished team of serial entrepreneurs and interdisciplinary scientists: Shay Hilel (CEO), Dr. Zohar Barbash (CTO), Prof. Maayan Gal (CSO), and Dr. Daniel Bar. Its executive team and board consist of seasoned senior executives from PepsiCo, Mondelez, IFF, Shiru and Brightseed, including Rob Hargrove, former Chief R&D Officer at Mondelez.
How the funding will be used: With this funding, Lembas will advance scale-up and commercialization of its GLP-1 Edge bioactive, expand its AI discovery platform, and deepen commercial agreements across the ingredients, food and supplements value chain.
KEY QUOTES:
“At Lembas, we’re creating a new category of science-backed nutrition, empowering consumers for the first time to effectively and conveniently manage their weight through companion food and supplements without pricy prescriptions, injections, and unpleasant side effects. Our early validation and the strong interest from global food and supplement companies shows there is a massive unmet need for our GLP-1 Edge solution, that works naturally with the body, not against it.”
Shay Hilel, Co-Founder and CEO of Lembas
“As a longtime food industry executive and investor in the space, I believe the discovery of GLP-1 is the biggest disruptor the food industry has faced in decades. Lembas is the first science-backed company enabling food players to seize this disruptive opportunity by setting a new bar for food-as-medicine.” Horsky added: “We’re combining deep-tech with cutting edge science to unlock a scalable, credible path to make functional food actually functional.”
Gil Horsky, Founding Chairman of Lembas and Managing Partner FLORA Ventures
