Fungi protein start-up Kernel Mycofoods™ raise over $15m and unveils 2022 plans to strike strategic partnerships with food producers and a potential public listing.

Kernel was founded in 2018 as a spin-out of Enye Tech, a multi awarded multidisciplinary agency led by Horacio Acerbo, Kernel’s CEO. Since its inception, Kernel has been researching ways to provide sustainable and cruelty-free protein at sustainable costs.

The start-up uses AI and robotics to optimize the entire mycoprotein manufacturing process to make its ingredients sustainable and cost-effective. "Biotechnology and AI are beginning to converge, and by harnessing them we will reduce both price and time to market," said Lucas Gago, Kernel’s COO.

In 2021, Kernel won the Phase 1 NASA Deep Space Food Challenge and was a semi-finalist of the $15M-competition XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion.

Kernel is tapping into the potential of the alternative protein market, whose value is expected to reach $290bn by 2035. Fungi are taking a key role in this market.

As healthy diets and cruelty-free production are becoming the norm, the outlook is quite positive for the start-up: “We exceeded $250m in product orders, and we’ll start shipping in early 2022,” says Miguel Neumann, Kernel Mycofoods™ CFO.
The funding round was led by Union Group Ventures, a privately owned conglomerate that invests in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, minerals, real estate, pharma, and alternative proteins.

The capital injection will allow Kernel to accelerate its ambitious plans for 2022, which include going public, a dozen new patents, and the construction of several facilities to reach a production capacity of more than 50,000 tonnes per year.

To learn more about Kernel Mycofoods, visit kernel.bio