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Microphyt and its many developments

Information updated on 23/02/23

Winner of Premier Usine’s call for projects in November 2021, this rising MedVallée star has now won the LabCom call for projects. The announcement comes after the startup raised 15 M€, notably from the L’Oréal investment fund.

Winner of Premier Usine’s call for projects in November 2021, this rising MedVallée star is now a winner of the LabCom call for projects. The announcement comes after the startup raised 15 M€, notably from the L’Oréal investment fund.

Microphyt, a champion in global health. Assisted at its start-up by Montpellier BIC, the company founded in 2007 is on its way to becoming a major player in the field of high value-added natural ingredients for nutrition and well-being.
 
Located in Baillargues, just east of Montpellier, the company produces its ingredients from microalgae that it cultivates in a sustainable manner on an industrial scale, without any GMOs or pesticides. Present everywhere on Earth, these microscopic organisms contain naturally high levels of active ingredients: omega-3, vitamin B12, beta-carotene, antioxidants, proteins, and more.

The diversity of these active ingredients is extraordinary. In order to benefit from the microalgae’s exceptional properties, Microphyt has developed and patented a unique industrial scale microalgae culture process, the CAMARGUE photobioreactor. This technology, referred to as “hydro-biomimetic,” reproduces the natural microalgae environment while at the same time ensuring a high level of control.

“Our technologies enable us to contribute to the promotion of a healthy and sustainable diet by providing unique, safe, and effective nutritional ingredients,” emphasizes Julie Person, head of communications at Microphyt.

Their innovation is so disruptive that the company has attracted a considerable amount of attention since it was founded. After winning the Première Usine de France 2030 call for projects in November 2022, Microphyt announced that it raised 15 M€ to accelerate sales and marketing of its natural solutions for nutrition and well-being.
 
Led jointly by L’Oréal, via its venture capital fund BOLD Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development, and Microphyt’s existing investors, including Bpifrance (via the SPI fund) and Sofinnova Partners, this round of funding was concluded after two previous rounds: the first, for 2 M€ in 2013 in seed capital including the regional IRDI Capital Investment fund; the second, for 28.5 M€, led by Sofinnova Partners and Bpifrance, via the SPI fund managed as part of France’s Investment for the Future Program in 2019.
 
In 2021, Microphyt also obtained an envelope of 3 M€ under the France Relance recovery plan to accelerate the marketing of its products. The company then joined the SCALE program, selected by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking, which associates the European Commission and the Consortium of Bio-industries. The four-year project has been awarded a 15 M€ grant to build  “the world's largest microalgae biorefinery” at the company's site in Baillargues.
 
The production unit is currently under construction. Now covering an area of 2,500 m², building space will be expanded to 7,500 m² by 2025, including approximately 100 photobioreactors, the industrial extraction unit, laboratories, and administrative offices.
 
With 50 employees, Microphyt is already well established in the American market, where it sells BrainPhyt, a dietary supplement designed to prevent age-related cognitive decline in seniors. The company’s product line also includes GamePhyt (the only clinically proven natural ingredient in the e-gaming sector) and, for cosmetics, Renouvellance (a biomimetic ingredient for protecting the skin from urban photo-stress), Phycosi (skin regeneration), and Luteana (an integrative solution for sensitive skin).
 
These are all based on natural ingredients that are part of the future of global health. That is why the company is so happy that Montpellier Métropole launched MedVallée.

“It is the territory's brand and Microphyt is a reflection of this positive momentum that we are proud to carry forward, in addition to being Montpellier BIC alumni,” highlights Vincent Usache, the company’s Managing Director.