The woman-owned, nature-inspired biotechnology startup Mycocycle, located in Chicago, Illinois, has raised $3.6 million in investment.
Investors
- The Illinois Department of Commerce
- Economic Opportunity INVENT Fund
- TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good
- U.S. Venture
- Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group led the investment
Use of funds
The business plans to utilize the money to expand its waste-to-value chain, strengthen ties with current waste material suppliers, and employ important executives for its operations, marketing, and technology departments.
The circular business model of Mycocycle consists of two primary components:
- Mycocycle assists its clients in using fungus at their own building or demolition sites to decompose and cleanse waste materials.
- Harvestable raw materials from mycocycle can be used to make industrial fillers, fibers, or foams.
About Mycocycle
Mycocycle is a biotechnology firm with a focus on nature, led by CEO and founder Joanne Rodriguez. It uses fungus to convert industrial waste into products that can be reused. The firm, which was founded in 2018, works to remove trash from landfills and promote circularity in the building supply chain. Mycocycle turns garbage into new raw materials by combining debris and lab-cultivated fungus at the waste generating site.
“Mycocycle helps decarbonize the construction material supply chain through a cost-effective, sustainable process that produces useful raw material for the building industry.”
Joanne Rodriguez
