Aanika Biosciences Launches Insurance Vehicle “Aanika Re” with Initial Backing From Adit Ventures

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Adit Ventures, a global venture capital firm with over $400 million in AUM, has agreed to seed Aanika Re, a Bermuda-based insurance vehicle wholly owned by Aanika Biosciences, inc.

Aanika Re’s mandate is to leverage the microbial tagging technology developed by Aanika Biosciences, as well as a broader swath of biological innovations, to prevent, identify and mitigate various risks in the food and agricultural industries.

“No one in the trillion dollar insurance market is looking at biology as a source of data commented, Vishaal Bhuyan co-founder and CEO of Aanika Biosciences. He added “traceability is at the heart of three main catalysts: 1) climate changes, which could lead to a significant rise in food safety issues 2) FDA rules on traceability which are coming into effect within 24 months and 3) ESG compliance for public companies.”

With the ability to tag and distinguish identical commodities and deploy preventative technologies, Aanika Re can provide coverage in areas that have been historically difficult to insure and potentially provide a cost savings on existing types of coverage.

Aanika Re being domiciled in Bermuda is the natural progression for Aanika since it was accepted into the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s “innovation hub” earlier this year.

“We are really excited about Aanika and this opportunity, said Jon Cholak Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Adit Ventures and Aanika board member. He continued: “It is rare to find compelling technology coupled with a difficult to replicate market strategy, which is what I believe Aanika has here’.

The insurance industry is nothing new to Aanika, CEO Vishaal Bhuyan co-authored 3 books with FT Press and Wiley, on the use of insurance to address issues such as over-fishing, under-funded pensions and water scarcity. Earlier this year the company hired Catherine Bessleman, a seasoned and senior reinsurance underwriter formerly at Hamilton Re.

About Adit Ventures

Adit Ventures is an employee owned and operated asset management firm headquartered in New York. Adit manages early-stage and late-stage venture capital funds, selectively investing in dynamic, high-growth sectors like AI/Big Data, Cloud, Critical Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, EdTech, FinTech, HealthTech, Internet of Things, New Media & Entertainment and Space.

Adit has invested in some of the world’s leading companies with exits in Airbnb, Astrocast, Cytocom, DocSend, Forge, Lemonade, Lyft, Palantir, Riff Analytics, Robinhood, Snap, SoFi, Spotify and Welltok.

Please visit www.aditventures.com for additional information.

About Aanika Biosciences

Aanika Biosciences is a Brooklyn based synthetic biology startup that uses microbes to improve food safety. The company was founded in 2018 by Vishal Bhuyan and Dr. Ellen Jorgensen and has raised nearly $20 million in venture financing to date from notable investors such as Adit Ventures, Draper Associates and Plug and Play Ventures.

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Source: Aanika Biosciences