Mycel, a South Korean startup making fungal-based biomaterials that may change leather-based and meat, stated it has raised $10 million (13 billion WON) in a pre-Collection A spherical of funding.
Co-founder and CEO of Mycel Sungjin Sah informed TechCrunch that the corporate makes use of mycelium, a root-like construction of mushroom, to make leather-based substitutes that can be utilized in automobile seats and luxurious beauty merchandise, and trend merchandise like footwear, garments and luggage. Mycel is in talks with international beauty manufacturers to co-develop the mycelium-based leather-based merchandise in addition to cosmetics substances, Sah stated, including that it goals to commercialize its mushroom leather-based in 2023.
The Seoul-headquartered startup will use this new funding to open a manufacturing plant in South Korea for scaling the manufacture of its fungal-based biomaterials and double its headcount to 42 staff, Sah stated in an interview with TechCrunch. The spin-off firm from Hyundai Motor’s in-house startup program was based in 2020 by former Hyundai Motor staff Sah, Sungwon Kim (COO) and Yunggon Park (CSO).
Mycel isn’t the one firm utilizing mycelium to make leather-based. There are no less than eight firms throughout the globe utilizing mycelium to make leather-based, per the 2021 Material Innovation Initiative report. These mycelium-based supplies innovators have attracted traders to ramp up mushroom- and plant-derived leather-based. A San Francisco-based startup known as MycoWorks raised $125 million in a Collection C spherical early this 12 months, whereas Bolt Threads also secured $253 million at a 1.15 billion valuation in September 2021. Ecovative Design additionally closed $60 million in March 2021.
Buyers in Mycel’s newest financing spherical embrace Korea Improvement Financial institution, Industrial Financial institution of Korea, Hyundai Motor’s Zero 1 Fund, also called ZER0 1NE 2 Fund, Stone Bridge, We Ventures and Spring Camp. Its pre-money valuation is roughly $40 million (50 billion WON), in keeping with Sah.
The worldwide wholesale market of next-generation materials to exchange leather-based, silk, down, wool, fur and unique skins with plant-based, microbe-derived, mycelium, recycled and different sustainable supplies is projected to succeed in approximately $2.2 billion by 2026.
A variety of trend manufacturers is trying to find next-gen supplies to accomplice with, per the 2021 MII report. In July, World luxurious model Stella McCartney, which has been working with Bolt Threads since 2017, launched a limited run of 100 mushroom-derived leather bags. Moreover, Hermes collaborated with MycoWorks to make a purse utilizing mushroom-derived leather-based.
Picture Credit: Mycel’s Myco leather-based
Mycel can be competing within the various protein area with fungi-based meals builders like Mycorena and Quorn.
On prime of the mushroom leather-based, Mycel develops a fungi-based biomaterial that can be utilized in its place protein to disrupt the meat sector — this biomaterial, which is totally different from Mycel’s mycelium within the leather-based, is a fungus however technically not mushrooms, Sah clarified. Again in 2020, the startup tried to pivot to its major biomaterial product for various protein, which was experiencing a increase in early 2020 in South Korea. However the firm now develops biomaterials for each mushroom-based leather-based substitutes and various proteins, Sah defined.
The corporate goals to enter Singapore with its fungi-based biomaterial that shall be utilized in various proteins as early as subsequent 12 months, Sah famous.
Picture Credit: Myco protein
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