Ecovative Design

Ecovative was developed from a university project of founders Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre. In their Inventor's Studio course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute taught by Burt Swersey, Eben and Gavin developed and then patented a method of growing a mushroom-based insulation, initially called Greensulate before founding Ecovative Design in 2007. In 2007 they were awarded $16,000 from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance.

Since 2008, when they were awarded $700,000 first place in the Picnic Green Challenge the company has developed and commercialized production of a protective packaging called EcoCradle that is now used by Dell, Puma SE, and Steelcase. In 2010 they were awarded $180,000 from the National Science Foundation and in 2011 the company received investment from 3M New Ventures, The DOEN Foundation, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute allowing them to double their current staff of 25.

In spring 2012, Ecovative Design opened a new production facility and announced a partnership with Sealed Air to expand production of the packaging materials. In 2014 their material was used in a brick form in 'Hy-Fi', a 40-foot (12 m) tower displayed in New York by the Museum of Modern Art and they started selling "grow-it-yourself" kits.

In November 2019, the company announced a $10M investment to support their new Mycelium Foundry.

In February 2020, IKEA committed to using Ecovative technology for packaging, replacing polystyrene.

In April 2021, Ecovative Design received a $60M investment to develop new applications for their technology and scale up manufacturing.

In 2012, scientists and engineers at Ecovative partnered with the EPA to grow a pure mycelium foam with the intention of using it for a shoe sole alternative to plastic. The experimentation in the lab for this project led to the discovery of Ecovative's latest technology platform, AirMycelium.

Ecovative's AirMycelium Platform utilizes existing mushroom farming infrastructure, specifically Dutch Style Mushroom Grow Chambers, utilizing over 3 billion lbs of existing global mushroom farming infrastructure. This platform enables the production of organic oyster mushroom mycelium proteins for meatless meats, elastomeric foams and high performance textiles often referred to globally as Mushroom Leather.

MyBacon

Ecovative's flagship breakfast protein is MyBacon currently in distribution in the United States from Ecovative's spinout company MyForest Foods - established in 2020. MyBacon is available in Whole Foods, Fairway Markets, Earth Fare, Hungry Root, Fresh Direct, Good Eggs, celebrity favorite grocer Erewon and independent grocers.