Dealflow | February 27, 2020

MycoWorks raises $17 million for sustainable alt-leather

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, February 27 – San Francisco-based MycoWorks makes a stronger and more durable “mushroom leather” that it touts as being both animal- and plastic-free. The company raised a $17 million Series A round from the “bio fund” venture capital firm DCVC, along with Novo Holdings, 8VC, Future Tech Labs, AgFunder, Susa Ventures, Cthulhu Ventures and Wireframe Ventures.

Innovative food startups raised $1 billion in 2019, double the deal volume from 2018, according to AgFunder’s 2019 industry research. The sector is dominated by consumer-facing food companies like plant-based burger rivals Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, but a growing number of startups like MycoWorks are expanding the space with sustainable and animal-free textiles and food ingredients.

MycoWorks’ alternative materials peers include Denmark’s The Apple Girl, which is making apple-based leather from agricultural waste. New York-based Modern Meadow, which is developing lab-grown leather, raised $40 million in Series B financing in 2016.