The South Korean biomaterials start-up company Mycel Project, a spin-off of the Hyundai Motor Group, has just closed a new pre-Series A funding round, raising a total of $10 million. Six main investors (a Hyundai Motor fund among them) are now involved in the company funding, most of them based in South Korea. The start-up specializes in biomanufacturing through biomimicry by leveraging physiological, biochemical and physical traits of fungi and mushrooms. The mycelium end product is materials applicable for various end products like footwear and bags that are used to replace leather as a vegan alternative.
According to TechCrunch, the company aims to commercialize its mushroom faux leather in 2023. The global wholesale market of next-generation fabrics to replace leather, silk, down, wool, fur and exotic skins with plant-based, microbe-derived, mycelium, recycled and other sustainable materials to reach approximately $2.2 billion by 2026, as the Material Innovation Initiative predicts.
