Maia Farms: $2.3 Million Raised To Transform Global Protein Supply With Mycelium

By Amit Chowdhry • May 8, 2024

Maia Farms, a company focused on transforming the global protein supply with mycelium, announced the successful closure of its pre-seed funding round. Maia Farms raised over $2 million between private capital and matching grant funding. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s mission to provide globally accessible and superior protein sources.

This funding round was led by a trio of visionary investors, including Joyful Ventures (California), PIC Group (Saskatchewan), and Koan Capital (Alberta). There was also investments from angel investors within the Creative Destruction Lab. Along with the equity investment, Maia Farms received crucial grant funding from five leading institutions, including the Canadian Food Innovation Network, the National Research Council of Canada, The SFU BC Centre for Agritech Innovation, MITACS, and the Canadian Space Agency. The infusion of resources propels the company’s total funding to over $2 million, enabling significant advancements in scale and R&D.

With this funding round, Maia Farms is prepared to accelerate its research and development activities, scale up operations, and further its reach for its first product line, CanPro. CanPro is a sustainable and accessible protein ingredient made with mushrooms and vegetables. CanPro most recently made headlines for its grand prize victory in the Deep Space Food Challenge hosted by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.

KEY QUOTES:

“We are immensely grateful for the support of our investors and partners, who share our belief that innovative solutions are needed to address the global protein challenge. This funding not only validates our fermentation approach but also strengthens our capacity to make a meaningful impact. We’re excited to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the food sector and to lead the way towards a more sustainable and nourishing future.”

– Gavin Schneider, CEO and Co-Founder of Maia Farms

“We are proud to announce our investment in Maia Farms, as their mission perfectly fits our investment thesis. Not only were we impressed by Maia’s mycelium protein, but we especially resonated with the scalability and viability of their technological innovations. Mycelium has a bright future for a more climate-positive, global food system and, as a Canadian, I am thrilled to see Canada become an early leader in this space.”

– Jennifer Stojkovic, General Partner and Co-founder at Joyful Ventures