In Chicago, mushroom-based materials startup Mycocycle has raised $2.2 million.
Mycocycle’s technology addresses “waste mismanagement” by transforming industrial waste into new raw materials. It does this by optimizing the natural functions of fungi to detoxify and transform waste such as asphalt shingles, insulation board, crumb rubber, gypsum drywall, fibers, and other hard-to-recycle building materials. Such trash contains petroleum-derived chemicals like heavy hydrocarbons or plasticizers that may contaminate the environment when burned or buried.
Mycocyle’s process efficiently neutralizes toxicity while transforming materials into a renewable, low-carbon, mycelium-based raw material.
The seed round, which brings Mycocyle’s total fundraise to date to $3.7 million, will be used to establish a model pilot facility, develop a first-generation decentralized treatment container, validate reuse of its biobased byproduct, and expand its team.
The round was led by Anthropocene Ventures, with participation from the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Alumni Ventures, and Telescopic Ventures, among others.