NEW TECH FOODS

The Bezos Earth Fund is investing $30 million in projects focused on using AI to protect the planet, including more than $2 million on projects to support sustainable protein development.

The broader $30 million investment – made as part of the Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge – aims to enable the scale of real-world AI solutions that tackle environmental issues such as biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity.

Food System Innovations (FSI), a US-based philanthropic platform investing in a sustainable future for food, is among 15 global teams selected to receive grants. The award will support a collaboration between FSI, its non-profit sensory programme Nectar, and computer scientists at Stanford University in California.

The team is developing algorithms that predict sensory attributes and optimise ingredient formulations for sustainable proteins. Using a combination of Nectar’s sensory data and molecular flavour databases, the team will build an AI model that connects molecular structure, flavour, texture and consumer preference. This aims to accelerate sustainable protein product development and market penetration.

Anna Thomas, the project’s technical lead and co-principal investigator, said: “Our early research shows that large language models can help revise formulations based on sensory feedback. With this grant, we can deliver actionable insights that improve taste and speed the protein transition.”

The AI Grand Challenge is a $100 million initiative, first launched in 2024. This new round builds on the success of Phase I, announced in May, which funded early-stage concepts demonstrating AI’s potential to accelerate environmental progress.

Other food-focused Phase II awardees announced include Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, for a project to apply neural networks to speed up cultivated meat production; and University of Leeds, in the UK, where researchers are building an AI platform to convert food waste into microbial protein.

Over the next few years, the awardees will test, refine and evaluate the impact of their approaches, sharing insights and results as their projects progress.

Amen Ra Mashariki, director of AI at the Bezos Earth Fund, said: “At the Bezos Earth Fund, we’re focused on making AI work for the environment – not the other way around”.

“These projects show how AI, when developed responsibly and guided by science, can strengthen environmental action, support communities and ensure its overall impact on the planet is net positive.”