Mycel develops fungal-based biomaterials using mycelium to produce leather substitutes for car seats, luxury cosmetics, and fashion items, and a separate fungi-based biomaterial for alternative protein. The company was founded in 2020 as a spin-off from Hyundai Motor’s in‑house startup program by former Hyundai employees Sungjin Sah (CEO), Sungwon Kim (COO) and Yunggon Park (CSO). Mycel plans to commercialize its mushroom leather in 2023 and is in talks with global cosmetic brands to co-develop leather products and cosmetics ingredients. The startup also aims to enter Singapore with its fungi-based ingredient for alternative proteins as early as next year. It will use the new funding to open a production plant in South Korea to scale manufacturing and to double headcount to 42 employees.

Total raised

$10M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Aug 2022