SMEY Launches AI-Driven ‘Neobank of Yeasts’ to Speed Up Creation of Cultivated Oils

SMEY has launched NOY (Neobank of Yeasts), a digital databank of yeast fatty acid profiles aimed at accelerating the development of sustainable cultivated oils. By utilizing a database of over 1,000 yeast strains, the platform allows manufacturers to quickly identify strains that naturally produce specific oils, reducing the time needed for creating custom oils for various applications such as food, cosmetics, and industry. This innovative approach eliminates the need for genetic engineering and has cut down the development process from two years to just 30 days.

The NOY platform not only streamlines oil development but also helps businesses meet regulatory requirements, such as the European Union's Deforestation Regulation. SMEY has already created sustainable alternatives to tropical oils using NOY, including cultivated cocoa butter and high-oleic butter for cosmetics, matching the performance of traditional products. This breakthrough was made possible through a collaborative effort involving over 30 experts in microbial fermentation, lipid chemistry, bioinformatics, and computational biology, showcasing the merging of AI and biology to revolutionize the creation of cultivated oils.