A Swedish Startup Just Raised $2.1M to Make Protein From Oats and Fungi

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-13

What if the future of sustainable protein didn't come from a lab, but from something as simple as oats and mushrooms? That's the bet Millow, a Gothenburg-based FoodTech company, is making. The company just closed a $2.1 million (€2 million) funding round to scale up its clean-label protein ingredients, which are made through a unique fermentation process. The money isn't just about growth—it's about timing. Millow is targeting the Nordic foodservice market, and it needs the production capacity and commercial firepower to meet the demand it's already seeing. The round was led by Magnus Emilson, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, with participation from Jan Enhager, co-founder of Vitamin Well (the group behind NOCCO and Barebells). Enhager will also step in as a strategic adviser to Millow's CEO, Fredrik Öhrn. ### The Investor Lineup is Impressive This isn't just a bunch of anonymous checks. Beyond Emilson and Enhager, the round includes two unnamed co-founders of Swedish tech companies whose combined exits top $2 billion. There are also strategic private investors from Sweden's food sector. That mix matters, especially for a company that's moving from R&D into commercial execution. "This round gives us the capacity and the commercial team to serve foodservice customers at the volumes they need," Öhrn said. "The job now is disciplined commercial execution, and what matters as much as the capital is who it comes from. Jan and Magnus bring experience and a network we would otherwise spend years building." ### The Science Behind the Protein Millow's story starts with over 25 years of research by Prof. Mohammad J. Taherzadeh, who founded the company and serves as its Chief Scientific Officer. In March 2026, he left his post at the University of Borås to join Millow full-time—a strong signal of commitment to the mission. The process itself is elegant. Millow uses solid-state fermentation to turn Swedish oats and mycelium (the root structure of fungi) into a protein ingredient with just two core components. No binders, no additives, no chemical tricks. It's as clean as it sounds. Here's where the environmental math gets interesting. The process uses only 3 to 4 liters of water per kilogram of product—roughly 0.8 to 1.1 gallons per 2.2 pounds. Independent verification by RISE puts the carbon footprint at 0.32 kg CO₂e per kilogram, which is about 98% lower than Swedish beef. That's a staggering difference. ### A Key Patent Win Alongside the funding, Millow got some good news from the European Patent Office. The nine-month opposition period for its core patent (EP 4 307 913) closed with no oppositions filed. That patent protects the low-water production method that makes the whole process viable. It's a moat around the technology. "I have spent decades building companies in technology and hospitality, and from the restaurant and hotel side I can see the demand for a protein like this coming," Emilson said. "The hard part is the technology, and that is what Millow has." ### What's Next for Millow? Millow is focused on B2B partnerships. It's working closely with major foodservice companies and manufacturers to get its mycelium-based products onto restaurant menus and retail shelves. The company is backed by the EU's EIC Accelerator and says it's in close talks with big foodservice operators and distributors in the Nordics. International interest is growing, too. For anyone watching the alt-protein space, this is a company worth keeping an eye on. It's not trying to convince consumers to eat something weird. It's making an ingredient that fits into existing supply chains, with a carbon story that's hard to argue with. The funding and the patent news give it a solid foundation for the next phase. As Öhrn put it, the team and advisers around the technology matter just as much as the tech itself. With this investor group and a clear commercial focus, Millow looks ready to prove that point.