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Did you know that black pepper can boost your metabolic health? That's just one nugget that Brightseed, a startup that studies the compounds in plants, has uncovered. But there's so much more to ...
Did you know that black pepper can boost your metabolic health? That's just one nugget that Brightseed, a startup that studies the compounds in plants, has uncovered. But there's so much more to learn, according to Brightseed's co-founder, Sofia Elizondo. Brightseed targets what Elizondo calls the "dark matter of plants," or the healing compounds in plants that we haven't known about until now. Using data produced by microscopes powerful enough to detect those compounds on a molecular level, Brightseed's artificial intelligence technology combs through that data to reveal medicinal and healing properties of plants, thereby shedding light on the "dark matter." Sofia explains how Brightseed's discoveries may someday turn your pantry into a medicine cabinet.
Co-Founder and COO
Sofia is the Co-founder and COO of Brightseed, a company that is bringing nature’s intelligence to life. She co-founded Brightseed on the belief that food should nourish, that plants have the answers, and that we now have the advanced machine-learning technology to find them. Brightseed has built a first-of-its-kind technology that can predict what kind of specialized metabolites plants are likely to produce as well as what health benefits these natural bioactive compounds can unlock. With this approach, Brightseed has found leads 10x faster than traditional medicinal chemistry research. Brightseed will make these bioactives available in their original whole plant source, as well as in an extract for the food and beverage industry. As it re-discovers nature’s wisdom, Brightseed seeks to promote diverse plant sources, and in doing so, promote all the benefits that these overlooked but highly important crops can bring to soil health and farmland sustainability. Prior to founding Brightseed, Sofia worked in food tech company Hampton Creek, was a member of the BCG Henderson Institute, and was a special advisor to the United Nations Global Compact.
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