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The last $45 million funding round was four years ago, and included pure financiers, companies in the sector, and even celebrities like Natalie Portman and John Legend, who have always been at the forefront of sustainability (and veganism).
Mycoworks, a California biotech company with the fine mycelium technology from which Lingzhi is made, a patented material for leather substitutes made from mycelium (the vegetative organ of mushrooms, composed of filaments), also faces the challenge of turning something that might be of interest to a small group of consumers today into an option for mass use. Perhaps, in a few years, the world will have to deal with a more general decline in meat consumption, and therefore less access to “access” animal skins (mostly industrial waste).
The company was founded in 2013 by three artists: Philip Ross, Sophia Wang and Eddie Pavlu. Sophia herself explains the origins of the project: “The idea to create the company came from what I observed during the creative process: mycelium is an extremely versatile material that can find applications in the most diverse fields, from art to design. Starting from a creative point of view, rather than an entrepreneurial one, allowed us to see the development of the company in a different way.” To date, the company has filed 75 patents and has 160 employees in the United States, France and Spain. And it looks to go further: according to Wang, who lives in California, “Our work meets a growing demand from consumers and our mission is to make this production as scalable as possible. For example, now we have a factory in Union City, South Carolina, where we produce Lingzhi, a material made from mycelium that is highly customizable.” “Our goal is to revolutionize the fashion industry: visionary leaders are needed to drive this change,” say the founders. Even the brands that have already started dialogues with Mycoworks: Hermès and Ligne Roset are among them.
Mycoworks CEO Matt Scullin also spoke about the scalability of the project: “Given that more and more people in the world are not eating meat, we have developed a leather alternative that also meets the needs of the industry – I am sure that in the coming years, as production increases, the price will fall,” he explained. However, at the moment Mycoworks’ interlocutors are luxury brands: “They want something that is not only beautiful and high-quality, but also profoundly innovative.”
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