ÄIO one of Protein Production Technology’s Top 26 Companies!

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We’re proud to share that ÄIO has been included in Protein Production Technology International‘s Top 26 companies to watch, a curated list highlighting innovators shaping the future of food and ingredient production.

What is Protein Production Technology International?

Protein Production Technology International (PPTI) is a global industry platform focused on the technologies, processes, and infrastructure behind next-generation food production. Unlike consumer-facing media, PPTI speaks directly to scientists, engineers, manufacturers, investors, and policymakers working on:

  • precision and biomass fermentation
  • alternative proteins and fats
  • industrial bioprocessing
  • scale-up from lab to commercial production
  • enabling equipment, analytics, and downstream technologies

Its quarterly publication and industry events are widely read across Europe, North America, and Asia by companies actively building real production capacity, not just concepts or pilots. The Top 26 list in the Q4 2025 issue spotlights companies moving beyond hype, organisations demonstrating technical depth, scalability, and relevance to real-world supply chains.

 

What problem is this ecosystem solving?

Across food and ingredients, the industry faces converging challenges:

  • growing demand for fats, proteins, and functional ingredients
  • increasing pressure on land, water, and biodiversity
  • climate-driven volatility in agricultural supply chains
  • regulatory and consumer demand for traceability and sustainability

Platforms like PPTI exist to track and connect the companies developing industrial alternatives, fermentation, bioprocessing, and circular feedstock utilisation, that can decouple ingredient production from climate- and land-intensive agriculture.

 

How ÄIO fits in?

At ÄIO, we develop fermentation-derived fats and oils designed to replace or complement palm oil, animal fats, and tropical butters in food and cosmetics. Our work sits at the intersection of:

  • industrial biotechnology
  • lipid chemistry
  • circular economy feedstocks
  • scale-ready fermentation

Being included in this list reflects that ÄIO is not only working on novel biology, but on industrial deployment: scaling processes, validating downstream production, and building ingredients that manufacturers can actually use. It places us among companies addressing the “missing middle” of food innovation, fats and oils, a category essential to texture, taste, and functionality, yet historically under-innovated compared to proteins.

 

What this recognition means for ÄIO?

For ÄIO, this recognition reflects years of work developing fermentation-derived fats and oils that can genuinely scale, integrate into existing supply chains, and reduce dependence on land-intensive and climate-vulnerable agricultural systems. It also strengthens our visibility among partners, manufacturers, and investors who follow PPTI to identify where the sector is truly moving. Being named in PPTI’s Top 26 signals that:

  • our technology is considered technically credible by industry experts
  • our focus on scalability and process control matters
  • fermentation-derived lipids are increasingly seen as a core part of future food systems, not a niche solution

As Nemailla Bonturi, Co-Founder and CEO of ÄIO, puts it:

“This recognition reinforces our belief that the future of food ingredients won’t be built through hype, but through deep science and scalable technology. We founded ÄIO to rethink how essential fats and oils are produced, and it’s encouraging to see fermentation-based lipids recognised as part of that future.”

Protein Production Technology International plays a key role in connecting ingredient innovators, manufacturers, and investors by showcasing solutions that address real bottlenecks in food and ingredient production, from sustainability and scalability to regulatory readiness and industrial performance. Being featured alongside other leading companies working on proteins, fats, and fermentation-based ingredients positions ÄIO firmly within this emerging industrial biomanufacturing ecosystem.

 

Looking ahead: ÄIO in 2026

As we move into 2026, ÄIO is focused on:

  • advancing industrial-scale fermentation capacity
  • supporting partners with application testing and product feedback
  • progressing regulatory pathways for food applications
  • preparing for investment round A

Recognition like this reinforces our conviction: the future of food ingredients is being built now, and it requires science, scale, and systems thinking.

We’re grateful to the editorial team at Protein Production Technology International for highlighting the companies pushing this field forward and proud to be part of a community working to build resilient, scalable, and sustainable ingredient solutions.

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