Singapore-based biotechnology company Umami Bioworks has announced advancements to its artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Alkemyst, that will reduce the length and costs of trials for feed production using algal oil.
“Combining AI, computational biology, and marine science, the company enables predictive feed optimization, improved performance, and more resilient aquaculture systems while also developing sustainable, animal-free marine ingredients for food, supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical applications – transforming rare biological potential into scalable, functional solutions,” Umami Bioworks said in a release.
The company explained that this new technological advancement predicts “how fish cells metabolize nutrients, lipids, and algal oils before physical feed trials begin.” The “Virtual Marine Cell” generated by the AI technology can replicate dozens of feed formulations for evaluation within hours and then the most viable candidates are the only ones sent to a physical trial.
By improving the likelihood of success prior to actual trials, the amount of guesswork conducted is decreased, the company said. For instance, core biological processes like lipid metabolism, nutrient uptake, immune activation, and stress response are nearly impossible to anticipate ahead of a trial, so improving AI technology can help predict trends more efficiently by modeling the fish biology at the cellular level and then sending only the most viable candidates to physical trial.
This technological improvement aims to tackle the rising costs of feed, which is typically the largest single cost aquaculture operations face. Coupled with supply uncertainty and price volatility, improvement to the platform hopes to mitigate costs in feed production.
“As fish oil supply tightens ... algal oil has become a critical omega-3 source, yet its performance remains difficult to predict,” the company said in a release.
With the new upgrades, trials should lessen in length of time, amount of money spent, and incompatible species usage.
“Powered by ALKEMYST, the platform simulates how different species process proteins, lipids, and algal oils under varying environmental conditions,” Umami Bioworks said in the release. “This allows feed performance to be computed ahead of trials, shifting feed development from empirical testing toward a predictive, biology-first approach. ALKEMYST can now simulate how marine cells metabolize algal lipids, revealing optimal inclusion rates, metabolic constraints, and biological trade-offs that were previously hidden.”
The upgrades come as experts are calling for an “acceleration” in the use of alternative ingredients, such as algal, microbial, insect-based, and next-generation plant proteins and algae oils.
