OIA strengthens Oman’s food security ambitions

Alternative foods: US firm MycoTechnology secures funding support from group backed by Oman Investment Authority

Leading US-based food innovation start-up MycoTechnology has announced that it has successfully wrapped up a new round of fundraising with support from a group affiliated with Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the integrated sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman.

The announcement comes less than two months after the establishment of Vital Foods Technologies, a partnership between OIA and MycoTechnology to support the implementation of a major alternative foods-based project in the Sultanate of Oman.

Colorado-USA headquartered MycoTechnology said it has secured $85 million in the latest Series E fundraise. Supporting the funding injection, besides Oman Investment Authority, were a number of leading international players operating in the conventional as well as alternative-foods businesses, including Tyson Ventures, Nourish Ventures (Griffith Foods' venture capital group), Rage Capital, Alphacy Investment, Siddhi Capital, S2G Ventures, Continental Grain Company, Bunge Ventures, Maple Leaf Foods, Evolution VC Partners, and Gaingels.

For OIA, currently the biggest investor in the Sultanate of Oman’s food sector, the latest funding support for MycoTechnology is broadly in line with its mandate to, among other goals, strengthen the country’s food security.

Vital Foods Technologies, set up in February as a joint venture with MycoTechnology, aims to capitalize on the latter’s proprietary fermentation technology to produce alternative protein from Omani dates. The goal is to enable the production of a variety of healthful, nutritious and dietary foodstuffs based on this alternative protein, thereby advancing the country’s food security objectives.

Established in 2013, MycoTechnology’s proprietary mushroom fermentation process harnesses the natural power of mycelia – the invisible root system of mushrooms – to develop a range of alternative protein-based foods that address sugar reduction, sustainable protein, nutrient density, and other nutrition-based factors.

Following the conclusion of the fundraise, MycoTechnology says it is now well-positioned to offer its product portfolio to consumers globally, with a focus on expanding in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Alan Hahn, CEO and Co-Founder of MycoTechnology, who was in Muscat earlier this year, commented: “This fundraise is a validation of the potential of our breakthrough proposition and next-generation ingredients. It will be a catalyst to accelerate our growth further and faster. The investment will power the imagination of our incredible team, driving our plans to add more new-to-the-world ingredients from the fungal kingdom. We have big things coming!"

Significantly, Vital Foods Technologies is the latest addition to OIA’s food-related investment lines. The Group also oversees Oman Food Investment Holding Co (OFIC) and owns Fisheries Development Oman (FDO).