“Digital nose” startup Osmo hired three executives and raised $70 million on Feb. 4. The New York company seeks to disrupt the secretive $57 billion fragrance industry by shrinking product development from months to days.
With plans to build a plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the company aims to “democratize” fragrance-making for modest-size personal care and household-product brands, and even individuals. “Clean” beauty label Kindred was an early client of the fragrance house Osmo launched 11 months ago.
“We want to create products that are safe, clean and biodegradable,” Founder Alex Wiltschko told the Brave New World podcast in July 2025. “Our AI system is digesting huge amounts of scent data. And it’s getting quite good at reasoning about what is natural, good, affordable or clean.”
In addition, Osmo seeks to perform environmental monitoring by identifying the chemical signatures of problematic mold and volatile organic compounds.
Using $8.6 million from the Gates Foundation, Osmo says it has identified more than a dozen better alternatives to DEET mosquito repellent. And there’s a supply chain safety angle: Osmo helps the StockX marketplace “sniff” out knockoff sneakers.
The latest, Series B funding round brings Osmo’s total raised to $133.5 million, according to Crunchbase.
Wiltschko, who holds a doctorate in neurobiology from Harvard, spent more than five years as a research scientist at Google Brain. He launched Osmo as a researcher in residence at Google Ventures. The former Twitter researcher has also cofounded two other AI startups, Whetlab and Syllable Life Sciences.
The hires
Osmo’s new executives include:
- Chief Commercial Officer Mike Rytokoski: He’s the former president of ingredients and fragrances at Amyris, which made fermentation-derived biochemicals. Rytokoski was also Clorox president of Latin America and Asia and held leadership roles at tire makers Goodyear, Crown International and ENSO.
- Chief Operating Officer Mateusz Brzuchacz: The former COO of Phoenix Flavors and Fragrances has held senior operational roles at fragrance giants Givaudan and IFF.
- Chief Financial Officer Nate Pearson: Pearson had been vice president of finance at Mercedes-Benz North America EV charging.
In addition, Boet Brinkgreve becomes an independent board member. He’s the former CEO, Beauty, at luxury brand Richemont; and CEO of fragrances and flavors at Firmenich.
CCO Rytokoski noted that Osmo can use chemistry and AI to replace problematic legacy ingredients. “Every time we look for a new molecule, we are filtering for safety and biodegradability from Day 1, ensuring that the next generation of products is inherently better for the planet,” he said.
“We can predict through software whether an ingredient will perform in a specific application before we ever touch a beaker,” Rytokoski added. “This doesn’t just speed things up, it drastically slashes the waste and the carbon footprint associated with traditional chemical R&D.”
“Osmo is unlocking an entirely new sensory dimension for AI,” stated Colin Beirne, now an Osmo board observer,