BERKELEY, Calif. and WESTCHESTER, Ill., March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shiru, named a TIME Best Invention of 2024 for its AI-powered approach to ingredient discovery, and Ingredion Inc. (NYSE: INGR), a leading global ingredient solutions provider, today announced a global R&D collaboration aimed at accelerating the discovery and commercialization of novel functional proteins for food, beverage, supplements and specialized nutrition.
Ingredion and Shiru will engage in the joint pursuit of a targeted R&D program enabled by Shiru's proprietary AI discovery platform — the industry’s broadest searchable database of functional protein ingredients, with more than 77 million natural protein sequences catalogued and analyzed.
“We have broken the mold on how ingredient discovery is done,” said Dr. Jasmin Hume, founder and CEO of Shiru. “Disrupting the speed at which we can identify high-performance natural proteins has opened the floodgates for healthy, targeted nutrition. What once took a team of 50 scientists a decade and a healthy dose of serendipity, we can now do strategically and efficiently in months. Pairing that capability with Ingredion's scale and customer relationships creates a direct path from discovery to market.”
The collaboration will focus on the development of next-generation prebiotics derived from natural sources to promote healthier microbiomes, an area where AI-driven protein discovery is creating new possibilities that conventional R&D cannot easily access.
As the evidence linking gut microbiome health to immunity, metabolic function and cognitive performance expands, CPG companies face increasing pressure to reformulate with ingredients that are both clinically credible and manufacturable at scale. This strategic partnership is directly focused on meeting that demand.
Ingredients developed through the joint research will have a path to Ingredion's 18,000+ customers across 120 countries.
“As consumer expectations rise, food companies need new ways to move faster and innovate smarter,” said Michael Leonard, chief innovation officer at Ingredion. “Shiru helps us discover better natural ingredients more quickly so we can help our customers deliver new products at a pace the market expects.”
The partnership follows Shiru's commercial launch of uPro™ and OleoPro™ (two AI-discovered natural ingredients now on the market for use in food and personal care) and builds on Ingredion's strategic push to expand its Texture & Healthful Solutions portfolio through external innovation.
About Shiru
Shiru is transforming ingredient innovation through AI-powered discovery. Its AI-enabled discovery platform, FlourishTM, maps the performance of 77 million unique, natural proteins for applications in food, beverage, personal care, agriculture, and advanced materials. Named a TIME Best Invention of 2024, Shiru's technology accelerates discovery from years to months, enabling brands to bring cleaner, more functional ingredients to market without compromising performance. Shiru is based in Berkeley, California. Visit shiru.com.
About Ingredion
Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in nearly 120 countries. With 2025 annual net sales of approximately $7.2 billion, the company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets. With Ingredion’s Idea Labs® innovation centers around the world and more than 11,000 employees, the company co-creates with customers and fulfills its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature and technology together to make life better. Visit ingredion.com for more information and the latest company news.
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