From Vision to Reality: ÄIO Featured in Innovations of the World
We are proud to share that ÄIO has been featured in the globally recognized book series Innovations of the World, which celebrates visionary companies, outstanding entrepreneurs, and breakthrough technologies shaping the future.
Our article, titled “From Vision to Reality,” tells the story of how ÄIO evolved from a scientific concept into a fast-growing biotech company redefining how fats and oils are produced. It traces our roots back to TalTech, where our co-founders Petri-Jaan Lahtvee and Nemailla Bonturi combined their expertise to tackle one of the biggest sustainability challenges in food and cosmetics – finding viable, scalable alternatives to palm oil, coconut oil, and animal fats.
We are happy to be part of this respected publication, which aims to do more than showcase innovation. It fosters inspiration and connection across global ecosystems.
Here are five reasons why this recognition matters to us and how it connects with ÄIO’s journey:
- Global reach with local depth. Innovations of the World highlights pioneering companies from cities and countries around the globe, showing how local ecosystems fuel global impact. For ÄIO, being featured among innovators from Singapore to Silicon Valley validates how a biotech company born in Tallinn, Estonia, can drive meaningful change on the world stage.
- Curated by industry experts. Each edition is carefully curated by local and sector-specific experts who recognize companies making measurable contributions to their fields. ÄIO’s inclusion underlines the credibility of our science, the market potential of our microbial oils, and the value of sustainable fermentation in both food and cosmetics industries.
- A platform for changemakers. The series creates a global platform where companies like ÄIO can be discovered by potential collaborators, investors, and media. For a startup on the verge of its first product launch and Seed A funding round in 2026 Q3, this visibility helps us connect with others who share our vision for sustainable ingredients.
- Focus on purpose-driven innovation. Innovations of the World elevates businesses solving urgent environmental and social issues. That is exactly ÄIO’s mission: to replace palm oil, animal fats, and fossil-based ingredients with scalable, clean alternatives made from industrial side streams. Our technology supports biodiversity, reduces water and land use, and promotes circular economy principles.
- Distributed in high-impact networks. The book is shared with policy leaders, universities, VC firms, and innovation hubs worldwide. For ÄIO, this means our story, and the potential of our ingredients, can reach decision-makers who influence supply chains, regulations, and investment in green technologies.
ÄIO’s inclusion among these world-shaping organizations confirms the impact of our mission and technology. From our early experiments in 1L bioreactors to successful 10 000L scale-ups, our work has stayed focused on creating microbial oils from food and wood industry side-streams, transforming waste into sustainable, clean-label, and multifunctional ingredients.
We now collaborate with over 100 companies around the world, and our team has grown from just two founders in 2022 to 23 team members (and two interns) in 2025 Q2. With our first product launch planned for late 2025 and our Seed A round scheduled for 2026 Q3, we are entering an exciting phase of scaling our innovation.
Being part of Innovations of the World is a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate the journey so far. We say huge thank you to the book’s editors, our research and industry partners, and everyone who has believed in our mission to make oil production smarter, cleaner, and more circular.
Read the full story here.
Stay with us as we continue to push boundaries, bridge science and sustainability, and build a better future.