MycoWorks Raises $125M in Series C Funding to Fund Mass Production of Fine Mycelium™ Materials

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – January 13, 2022 – Today, MycoWorks announced a $125 million Series C funding round led by Prime Movers Lab, with participation from new investors SK Networks and Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact & Innovation Fund, in plus other new and existing investors. The Series C funding round will be used to launch Fine Mycelium™’s first large-scale production facility to meet growing demand for the company’s materials, including MycoWorks’ flagship product, Reishi™.

MycoWorks’ patented Fine Mycelium process produces a natural material with the performance of the finest animal hides and a lower environmental impact. It is a proprietary biotechnology platform that engineers mycelium to develop the only custom made, custom made luxury material. Recognized globally as a breakthrough in materials science, Fine Mycelium materials provide superior hand feel, durability and aesthetics. The process also opens up new design possibilities for fashion and luxury brands, while its predictable and scalable tray-based process provides much-needed relief from supply chain constraints.

Based in Union County, South Carolina, the new facility is modeled after the company’s Emeryville semi-automated pilot plant, which successfully demonstrates the scalability of the Fine Mycelium process. In operation for a year, the pilot plant demonstrates high production yields, respects target costs and brings MycoWorks to reach its last production milestone of 10,000 trays processed. The new facility, which is expected to be operational within a year, will enable initial mass production volumes of several million square feet of fine mycelium material per year. The funding will also support the expansion of the company’s fast-growing team as well as continued research, development and innovation to advance the Fine Mycelium platform.

“We are excited to partner with new and repeat investors who have deep experience in scaling manufacturing. MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium platform produces the highest quality leather-like material in the world through a proprietary process that we own and operate,” said Matt Scullin, CEO of MycoWorks. “As the only vertically integrated biomaterials company in the field of new materials, we will use this capital to continue to develop our leadership position.”

“What MycoWorks has achieved with its Fine Mycelium platform is not just a breakthrough, it’s a game-changer for industries that are ripe for change,” said David Siminoff, General Partner of Prime Movers Lab. “This opportunity is huge, and we believe that unparalleled product quality combined with a proprietary and scalable manufacturing process has allowed MycoWorks to serve as the backbone of the new materials revolution.”

“MycoWorks makes the only product we’ve found that resembles animal leather quality, and they produce it on a highly scalable platform. We are excited to partner to manufacture Fine Mycelium materials globally,” said Ho Jeong Lee, Executive Vice President of SK Networks.

Refined over two decades of research and development, Fine Mycelium offers brand creative teams unprecedented levels of material input and design. Brands can select and customize the thickness, weight, hand and drape of Fine Mycelium materials. Using its highly controlled tray-based system, Fine Mycelium designs the mycelium as it grows to precise specifications to create perfectly uniform, high-quality leaves at scale. Vertically integrated, Fine Mycelium can also transform brand supply chains with increased traceability, reduced waste and post-processing and a significantly improved sustainability profile.

MycoWorks announced its first partnership with Hermès in the spring of 2021 and has signed contracts with a range of major global luxury brands. MycoWorks is progressing towards market entry at a range of price points as it moves into full-scale production.

Posted: January 13, 2022

Source: MycoWorks