Biotech company Nortian raised $41 million in a landmark funding round to launch its US collagen manufacturing operations and accelerate commercialization.

The round was led by AJ Hollander, one of the world's largest hide processors and traders, which brings scale and security in hide sourcing, processing over 10,000 hides daily across five US facilities. Additional participation came from Hubbard Ingredients, the owner of Integrated Proteins, a Midwest-based supplier to the global animal protein industry; XPTO, the family office of XP Inc.'s founding partners; and several family offices from Texas and the Midwest. Together, these investors bring deep operational expertise and industrial alignment.

With a post-money valuation of $100 million, Nortian is now poised to activate its US manufacturing hub — the largest in the country —  in St. Joseph, Mo. The production facility spans over 90,000 square feet on a 24-acre site, with an initial capacity of 600 tons per month and plans to scale up to 1,000. The project is expected to create 138 new jobs in the region, supporting local economic development alongside national production goals.

Nortian's proprietary process transforms hides—typically discarded in the meat industry—into highly purified collagen with 99% purity and 98% protein concentration, among the highest in the global market. In doing so, the company is also tackling a longstanding environmental challenge: animal waste. By reclaiming and upgrading this byproduct, Nortian is creating a scalable model for upcycling animal byproducts into high-value ingredients, bridging industrial food systems with modern biotech to drive impact across health, nutrition and manufacturing.

"Eighty percent of collagen sold in the US is still imported, often with limited quality control," said Andre Albuquerque, Nortian's founder and CEO. "We're building the most advanced and reliable high-protein ecosystems in the world. Fully made in the US and optimized for next-generation health and nutrition."

Nortian's US-first strategy is tightly aligned with today's economic and policy climate, with tariffs on imported collagen, rising consumer demand for local manufacturing and strong federal and state incentives.

Before founding Nortian, Albuquerque built and sold Suplax, one of the largest supplement contract manufacturing companies in Latin America. He later founded an ingredient manufacturing company, which was acquired by an investment fund in 2024. With over a decade of experience in the food, supplements and ingredients sectors — Albuquerque brings a proven track record of scaling businesses. Nortian's leadership team includes alumni from Morgan Stanley, UBS and biotech companies, and is supported by a board of seasoned operators and strategic investors.

"Nortian combines American manufacturing muscle with biotech-level precision," said Benjamin Ganz, founding partner of AJ Hollander. "This team knows how to scale, and they're doing it with the right partners, in the right place, at the right time."

The global collagen market is expected to nearly double from $9.8 billion in 2023 to nearly $20 billion by 2030, fueled by growing demand across the wellness, food and pharmaceutical industries. Nortian's collagen is engineered with targeted amino acid enhancements to support performance, recovery and overall bioavailability. Early testing indicates benefits on par with whey protein, with broader functional applications and a cleaner, more traceable sourcing model.

Source: Nortian