M-Based raises $700K seed round for mushroom-based materials
What's the deal? Ankara-based biotech startup M-BasedDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised roughly $700,000 in a seed round led by the ODTÜ 70th Year Venture Capital Investment Fund, managed by Maxis Girişim Sermayesi Portföy Yönetimi. Elemental VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and existing investor Hatcher+ also participated.
What's the endgame? M-Based, based at ODTÜ Teknokent, uses mushrooms to develop alternative materials that can replace traditional ones across sectors. Its first product, FOMES, is a mushroom-based vegan leather alternative aimed at fashion and textiles, with plans to extend into automotive and furniture.
Why now? The company will use the funding to move FOMES into industrial-scale production, speed up commercialisation, and support growth in international markets. It follows a 2024 pre-seed round that let M-Based focus on product and technology development.
What they're saying: Co-founder and chief executive officer Görkem Gökoğlu said the company aims to turn the potential of mushrooms into alternative material technologies for different industries, with FOMES as its first product (translated from Turkish).
The deal marks the first investment from the ODTÜ 70th Year fund. M-Based previously raised from Hatcher+, Sente VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Fark LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2024, and was among 50 startups selected for the Big Bang Startup Challenge 2025.
The signal: M-Based's long-term goal is to turn mushroom-based materials — now positioned as alternatives — into widely adopted standards in the sectors where they are used.
Read more: webrazzi.com
Image credit: M-Based
