Mykor Raises $5M for Low-Carbon Construction Materials

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-27

Bristol-based startup Mykor just landed $4.8 million in funding to turn waste into building materials. Here's why that matters. ### The Big Picture The built environment is a massive carbon culprit. According to Mykor, it accounts for about 39% of global emissions. That's a huge chunk. And while insulation helps cut operational energy use, most conventional materials are non-renewable, high-carbon, and even combustible. So the challenge is clear: we need better options. Mykor, founded in 2021 by Olivia Page and Valentina Dipietro, aims to solve this by turning industrial and agricultural waste into low-carbon construction products. Think of it as growing building materials instead of mining or manufacturing them. Their process uses engineered mycelium (the root structure of mushrooms) combined with green chemistry and industrial manufacturing to create products that can slot right into existing construction supply chains.  ### The Funding Details The $4.8 million round (converted from €4.6 million) was led by Clean Growth Fund, with help from the British Business Bank's South West Investment Fund, Green Angel Ventures, and Innovate UK. This brings Mykor's total funding to $9 million (from €8.6 million), including $6.6 million in equity and $2.4 million in grants.  ### How It Works Mykor doesn't just make one product. They've built a platform that lets contractors and manufacturers integrate biomaterials into their existing production lines. Their first product, MykoSIP, is a preassembled partition wall. It cuts carbon by about 50% compared to standard systems, while matching them in thermal and acoustic performance. Plus, the panels use 90% less water and 40% less electricity than polystyrene versions. And they're mold-free. ### What the CEO Says Olivia Page, CEO and co-founder, put it this way: "We've built Mykor around the idea that decarbonising construction cannot come at the expense of cost, performance or practicality. The challenge has never just been inventing a biomaterial — it's been manufacturing these systems at industrial scale and integrating them into real construction supply chains." ### Why This Matters Traditional insulation materials are made from finite resources that take centuries to form. Mykor's biofabrication process grows products from waste streams in days. That's a huge shift. And as whole-life carbon assessments become standard, developers are under pressure to cut both embodied and operational emissions. Mykor offers a way to do both without sacrificing performance or cost. ### The Bottom Line Mykor is tackling one of the hardest parts of sustainability: making low-carbon materials that actually work in the real world. With this funding, they're scaling up their technology and partnering with major contractors and manufacturers globally. It's a step toward a construction industry that's not just less bad, but genuinely regenerative.