Indian precision fermentation startup StrainX Bioworks has raised $13M and self-affirmed one of its ingredients under the US FDA's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) provision, marking a significant commercial milestone for India's emerging biotech sector. The Bhopal-based company operates a full-stack platform, controlling every stage from strain engineering through to downstream processing and manufacturing, a model designed to lower costs and accelerate scale-up toward 10

A rigorous 18-week clinical trial found that daily consumption of maitake mushrooms significantly improved cognitive scores in healthy older adults, particularly in memory.

A UK startup is using an ancient fungal fermentation technique to transform discarded cocoa shells into a lower-cost, lower-carbon cocoa replacement. Fermtech's Koji Cocoa can reduce production emissions by 98% and cut ingredient costs for manufacturers by up to a third. With £2.5M in fresh funding, the Oxford-based company is moving towards commercial scale at a moment when cocoa prices and supply volatility are at historic extremes.

The UAMH Centre for Global Microfungal Biodiversity at the University of Toronto (home to nearly 12,000 living fungal specimens from over 3,200 species) was at risk of being shipped overseas due to lack of funding, until a $1-million donation from the Weston Family Foundation secured its future for at least five years.

Article in partnership with The Future is Fungi Award . The Future is Fungi Award is the world's only global award and a venture launchpad dedicated to breakthrough innovations using fungi to regenerate the planet. By connecting leading universities, corporates, investors, innovators and philanthropists, the initiative accelerates the most promising fungal science and startup innovators from lab to market for a sustainable fungal future. Lead the next wave of frontier fungal