Mushroom pioneer MycoTechnology secures $6.7m investment

MycoTechnology – which has developed a pioneering new food processing platform using mushroom roots (mycelium) – has secured $6.7m in a Series A round of financing, with a second round expected to close before the end of the year.

The investment round - led by S2G Ventures with participation from Middleland Capital and Seventure Partners - will help the Denver-based firm expand its R&D, operations and sales teams and accelerate adoption of its technology, said founder and CEO Alan Hahn.

“We are only in the early days of understanding all the different ways mushrooms can improve the foods we eat every day. We are constantly finding new ways that they can solve some of the biggest challenges faced by the food and beverage industry.”

MycoTechnology’s ‘myceliation’ process – by which the mushroom mycelium can remove unwanted compounds and infuse agricultural raw materials with 1-3 1-6 beta glucans and a highly digestible protein - can create smoother (less bitter) coffee; chocolate that tastes great with no added sugar; stevia with no bitter aftertaste; and wheat minus virtually all of its gluten.   

The firm, which recently struck a deal with sweetener company U.S. Niutang to use the MycoZyme process to remove the bitter metallic aftertaste in its NiuVia stevia product, is also talking to companies in the coffee, chocolate, and bakery categories.  

Read more about MycoTechnology HERE and HERE and watch our interview with MycoTech CEO Alan Hahn at the IFT show below: