The Bezos Earth Fund has committed more than $2 million to Food System Innovations (FSI) to advance artificial intelligence tools for developing sustainable proteins. The award is part of a wider $30 million investment under the Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, a global initiative supporting technologies that address environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity.
FSI, a US-based platform dedicated to sustainable food systems, is one of 15 international recipients of the latest funding round. The organisation will work with its non-profit sensory research arm, Nectar, and Stanford University to create algorithms capable of predicting taste, texture, and consumer preferences in alternative proteins. By combining sensory and molecular data, the project seeks to accelerate formulation improvements and strengthen the competitiveness of plant-based and cultured protein products.
The Grand Challenge, valued at $100 million overall, was launched in 2024 to scale practical AI solutions with environmental benefits. Other Phase II beneficiaries include Delft University of Technology, which is applying neural networks to cultivated meat production, and the University of Leeds, developing an AI platform that converts food waste into microbial protein.
Over the next few years, selected teams will refine their systems, measure impact, and share findings with the global research community.