Dr. Hans Riegel Holding, a holding company of German confectionary brand Haribo, has led a $58m series B funding round for German biotech company Infinite Roots.
The startup, formerly known as Mushlabs, develops mushroom mycelium-based nutrition. Mycelium is the vegetative part of fungi, which can be used as a technology to create a meat-like substance, the production of which emits fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional livestock. It can also be used as a biodegradable alternative to plastic.
Corporate investors REWE Group, a German operator of supermarkets and consumer stores, and Betagro Ventures, the CVC arm of the Thai agrobusiness, participated in the round.
The new corporate investors were joined by existing VC firms Clay Capital, FoodLabs, Realpine, Simon Capital and Happiness Capital.
With the new funding Infinite Roots plans to expand production and invest in launch activities worldwide, according to a release.
“Rethinking food production and consumption has never been more pressing, and requires our collective efforts. We are thrilled to join forces with industry champions to establish the next generation of tasty, healthy and sustainable foods,” said Mazen Rizk, founder and CEO of Infinite Roots, in the release.
The EIC Fund, a European Commission initiative that makes direct equity investments in European startups, was also part of the financing.
