MycoTechnology

MycoTechnology is a startup specializing in functional ingredients extracted from mushroom mycelia via submerged fermentation. The company's primary products are 1) ClearIQ, a clean-label bitter blocker and flavor clarifier used in plant-based foods, energy drinks, and confectionery, and 2) FermentIQ, a high-quality protein source derived from plant protein fermented with shiitake mushroom mycelia, suitable for various applications including nutritional beverages, baked goods, protein-enriched snacks, frozen desserts, and dips. The company has a presence in over 100 countries through its distribution partners in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

The company also offers a fermentation-as-a-service (FaaS) platform, designed to help startups and companies facing challenges in securing fermentation capacity. It supports bioproducts such as proteins, enzymes, and probiotics and features 300-liter, 3,000-liter, and 90,000-liter fermentation vessels, particularly suited for low oxygen transfer rate (OTR) fermentation.

MycoTechnology's facility spanned 86,000 sq ft and could produce up to 4,000 metric tons of FermentIQ protein annually (as of 2019). The company asserted that FermentIQ is 2.5x more soluble than unfermented pea and rice blends, 2x as soluble as pea protein, and over 8x as soluble as rice protein. The company held a total of 109 patents worldwide for both products, as of October 2023.

Key customers and partnerships

In May 2022 , MycoTechnology and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) formed a partnership to produce a mushroom-based protein by upcycling locally sourced dates, which are in excess. The two parties will also work together to build a modern production facility in Oman, with a capacity to process 16,000 metric tons of dates annually, which is set to begin construction in H1 2023 and will be used for scaling up and commercializing the new protein. In November 2022 , the company partnered with IFF to co-develop mycelia-based alternative proteins for the European market.

Funding and financials

In March 2022, the company raised USD 85 million in a Series E funding round led by an affiliate of Oman Investment Authority, bringing its total funding to over USD 200 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate the company’s growth by capitalizing on its proprietary fermentation platform and expanding its global presence by launching products in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.