Mushroom Material's $8.5m raise could make polystyrene obsolete

Mushroom Material's $8.5m raise could make polystyrene obsolete
Mushroom Material's fungus-based product could pinch polystyrene's markets. (Image: Mushroom Material)
Greg Hurrell
A company founded in New Zealand is on track to upend the packaging industry after raising $8.5 million in seed funding. The funding round will allow Mushroom Material to build a 1,300-square-metre pilot plant in Mt Roskill, Auckland, to prove that its polystyrene substitute is as useful as the highly polluting plastic.The round was led by Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners and Seeds Capital, with contributions from NZ venture capital companies Icehouse Ventures and K1W1, along with Black Kite Capital of Singapore.Mushroom Material was fou...

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