Denmark’s Mycoverse raises €2.4 million to develop fungal-based biological alternatives to chemical pesticides

Mycoverse, a Danish AgTech developing biological crop protection using fungi, today announced that it has raised €2.4 million in pre-Seed equity funding to develop its first solution targeting potato late blight, one of Europe’s most destructive crop diseases.

The round was led by co-led by Future Food Fund and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from PINC, the venture arm of Paulig. It has previously been supported by the BioInnovation Institute with €1.9 million, bringing Mycoverse’s total fundraising to €4.3 million.

Svend Petersen, CEO and co-founder of Mycoverse, commented, “This funding allows us to rapidly expand our field trials programme, bringing us closer to delivering reliable biological crop protection products that farmers can adopt without changing their existing practices.”

Mycoverse was founded in 2024 and is a spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The biosolutions company claims to use its AI-driven discovery platform to identify promising fungal strains and develop bioactives providing superior crop protection.

This method, integrated with Mycoverse’s fungal production technology, allows for scalable biological crop protection solutions that easily integrate into existing farming systems. The company’s platform is designed to support solutions across multiple crops, with an initial focus on potato late blight and future applications including grapevine.

Kim Wagenaar, Investment Director at Future Food Fund, said, “Our investment strategy is guided by the Planetary Boundaries framework, supporting innovations that allow food production to operate within Earth’s safe limits. Mycoverse combines AI-driven discovery with advanced fungal production technology to deliver biological solutions that can match field performance while reducing systemic environmental pressure.”

According to the company, the crop protection landscape in Europe is evolving in response to regulatory developments and growing demand for more sustainable agricultural practices. At the same time, farmers need reliable and cost-effective solutions to manage persistent disease pressures.

“As chemical crop protection products are phased out and growers are increasingly dealing with resistance to products that are still on the market, the need for new solutions has never been clearer,” added Wagenaar. 

The startup also emphasised the challenges posed by potato late blight and stated that the disease represents an estimated €1.6 billion ($1.9 billion) global market opportunity. This creates clear potential for innovative bio-based solutions that support crop resilience while reducing environmental impact. 

“We are impressed by the scientific depth of the team and the speed with which they are able to identify and screen high-performing biological candidates. The rapid development of their potato blight candidates, achieved in just five months, demonstrates the strength and efficiency of their platform,” said Christian Kannemeier, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF. 

The funding enables two years of field trials toward commercial validation. Looking ahead, Mycoverse aims to expand its platform to additional crops, such as grapevines, as regulatory agencies and the agribusiness sector across Europe accelerate the adoption of biological crop protection methods.

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