Swedish Biotech Seaqure Labs Secures €470,000 to Scale Mycelium-Based Aquaculture Feed
- Marc Violo
- Sep 29
- 2 min read
Too long to read? Go for the highlights below.
Seaqure Labs has closed a €470,000 pre-seed funding round to develop mycelium-based protein ingredients for aquaculture feed
The Gothenburg-based start-up transforms agri-food sidestreams into circular feed ingredients using fungal fermentation
The company is currently conducting feeding trials on rainbow trout in Portugal, aiming to reduce dependency on fishmeal and soy
The global aquaculture industry faces a persistent challenge: how to feed a growing number of farmed fish without depleting wild fish stocks or encroaching on rainforests for soy production. Seaqure Labs, a Swedish biotech company founded in 2023, believes fungi hold the answer.
The Gothenburg-based start-up has secured €470,000 in pre-seed funding to scale its production of mycelium-based protein ingredients. The round attracted backing from Chalmers Ventures, Almi Väst, VASTAF (Västkustens Affärsänglar), Propel Capital, and SLU Holding AB, alongside other investors.
Turning Waste into Protein
Seaqure Labs utilises mycelium—the vegetative structure of fungi—as a solution for current unsustainable methods within aquaculture, producing circular feed using industrial sidestreams. The approach addresses two problems simultaneously: finding alternatives to conventional aquaculture feed whilst repurposing waste from the agri-food industry.
Traditional aquaculture relies heavily on fishmeal, which places pressure on wild fish populations, and soy, which contributes to deforestation in sensitive ecosystems. Seaqure Labs provides a sustainable mycelium ingredient alternative to fishmeal and soybean meal in aquaculture feed, preserving ocean fish populations as well as reducing the dependency on producing soy in the Amazon rainforest, whilst enhancing fish health with probiotic benefits.
From Laboratory to Fish Farm
The company has moved beyond laboratory research into practical testing. Six months ago, Seaqure Labs launched its first pre-commercial pilot trial in Portugal. The land-based feeding trial uses mycelium-based aquafeed on rainbow trout in Nazaré, conducted in partnership with BGI - Sustainable Ventures.
The mycelium production requires radically less land-use than soy, uses minimal amounts of water, and can be produced using solid sidestreams and solid state fermentation. This efficiency could prove crucial as the aquaculture sector expands to meet rising global protein demand.
Building on Expertise
The team behind Seaqure Labs brings together specialists from multiple disciplines, including biotechnology, fish nutrition, resource recovery, corporate sustainability, and finance. This multidisciplinary approach reflects the complexity of transforming industrial by-products into nutritionally complete feed ingredients.
According to the company, the fresh capital will enable it to take the next step towards making aquaculture a positive force by providing circular ingredients for growing food production needs worldwide. As feeding trials continue and production methods are refined, the Swedish start-up is positioning itself at the intersection of biotechnology and sustainable food systems—a space where innovation increasingly meets necessity.
