monk

A year after securing $24.5 million in Series A capital, ingredient company Elo Life Systems is back with a $20.5 million Series A extension from existing investors. This new cash infusion gives Elo Life $45 million in venture-backed capital to date. North Carolina-based Elo Life was founded in 2021 and is focused on a number of technologies from developing plant-based sweeteners to crop protection. Its first product, launching in 2026, will be a natural, monk fruit-derived sweetener that Elo Life touts is 300 times sweeter than sugar without the calories. Simply put, it uses plants as “biofactories” to produce the monk fruit sweetener in other easier-to grow-crops, like watermelons and sugar beets.