2024-02-26 07:30:17
A young start incubated by station F in Paris, Spore.bio promises to revolutionize analyzes in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Combining optics and artificial intelligence, it detects bacteria in samples in a few seconds, relegating the petri dish to the past.
In January 2023, Maxime Mistretta, engineer at the Pasteur Institute, and Amine Raji created the start-up Spore.bio. “I previously worked for large food groups like Nestlé. I was very frustrated with the tools used to check products for contaminants. Tests to quantify bacteria or mold require several days, the time to cultivate them in petri dishes. In some cases, when companies use external service providers, verifications can take 20 days”, notes Amine Raji, CEO of Spore.bio. Based on this observation, the partners are therefore developing industrial microbiology technology capable of considerably reducing the analysis time and thus avoiding the 420,000 annual deaths attributed to food poisoning worldwide. A third co-founder, engineer Mohamed Tazi, experienced in start-up management, was added to the team as COO. A few months after its creation, Spore.bio raises 8 million euros to strengthen its team. Today, it brings together 15 people in two Parisian laboratories.
Combining microbiology and AI
The technology offered by Spore.bio is at the crossroads between optics and artificial intelligence. “We talk a lot about AI through chatbots for example, but there are much more concrete applications, which lead to the resolution of industrial problems”assure the CEOs.
The start-up collects samples from different food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some are contaminated, others are artificially contaminated by the Spore.bio teams. The sample then passes through the instrument which detects the spectral signal of the bacteria. At the same time, it is cultured in a petri dish to obtain reference data. The results collected make it possible to train an artificial intelligence model based on machine learning. “Our technology detects microorganisms in seconds with performance levels similar to, or even better than, Petri dishes”, rejoices Amine Raji. The start-up has already converted this proof of concept into an industrial prototype which is being installed at three companies in Europe.
The tool is compact and easy to use. “We can place it on a bench and it only requires an electricity connection and an internet connection to be linked to our database. The manufacturer rents the machine from us and he can carry out as many tests as he wants”, specifies the CEO. With the deployment of these machines, the company will qualify in the field, validate its performance and enrich its database. A first step towards the marketing of their instrument, which will allow manufacturers to ensure the quality of their product quickly.
In the field, Spore.bio’s closest competitors are based on biological solutions such as PCR which look for the DNA or RNA of the bacteria in the sample. But these methods require at least 48 hours, with significant material and technical constraints. “We are really the first start-up to develop this type of technology for this type of application”, welcomes Amine Raji. He pursues : “We are looking to recruit fifteen people to advance the industrialization and operational monitoring of our customers. Those with a technical background are welcome! »
1708941935
#Spore.bio #accelerates #bacteriological #tests