Infinite Roots: redefining protein production with mycelium technology

Instead of farming animals or harvesting crops, Infinite Roots grows mycelium, the root-like structure of fungi, in fermentation tanks. The result is a protein that can be produced year-round, almost anywhere, using a fraction of the resources conventional systems require

This shift in production challenges a system that has long relied on a narrow agricultural base. Despite more than 300,000 edible plant species worldwide, just ten crops provide over 80% of global calories. Much of this output feeds livestock, driving land use change, biodiversity loss, and greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock farming alone contributes around 12% of global emissions, while also consuming vast quantities of water and feed. [1]

This concentration leaves food systems exposed. Climate disruption, supply chain shocks, and geopolitical instability all increase the risk of shortages. The challenge now is producing food in ways that are resilient, resource-efficient, and scalable across regions. One pathway forward is expanding beyond traditional agriculture. 

As the company scaled, its model began to highlight a broader shift in how protein can be produced. Because its fermentation platform turns mycelium into protein without the need for grazing land or vast irrigation, it flips the resource expectations of protein production. Where cattle require pasture and soy needs swaths of cropland, Infinite Roots achieves equivalent output using a fraction of the inputs. According to published impact metrics, its process is 500% more land-efficient and over 200% more water-efficient than soy, with 30 times higher protein productivity per unit area. [3]

These gains point to a deeper transformation. Production moves from a system tied to soil and seasons to one anchored in controlled, scalable biology. Farms and factories alike can plan with fewer variables linked to drought or crop failure, while food producers can diversify inputs without increasing pressure on ecosystems. Over time, that resilience translates into more stable supply chains, shorter production distances, and reduced climate vulnerability.
 

Turning that potential into practice required technology and integration. When Infinite Roots began preparing to scale, the questions were practical, not technical. Who would use this protein first? Where it would fit in existing supply chains? How it would move from fermentation tanks into real kitchens and production lines?

Through the RisingFoodStars programme, Infinite Roots was placed in rooms where those questions were already being worked through. Conversations shifted from what the technology could do to where it could land. Feedback came from food producers, retailers, and partners who understood the constraints of manufacturing, regulation, and cost, not in theory, but in practice.

That exposure sharpened how Infinite Roots talked about its protein, how it prioritised partnerships, and how it framed scale as something that had to work within today’s food system, not a future one. As a result, progress accelerated because fewer assumptions went untested.

• Scale happens through a series of decisions that make production steadier and easier to plan. When protein is grown indoors, schedules stop bending around seasons, and fewer conversations start with “if the harvest holds”.
• Materials that once needed managing start slipping back into the system with purpose. By-products move from one process into another without ceremony, and nobody needs to invent a sustainability story around it, because it simply works.
• Risk can be diversified. Weather still matters, markets still move, but fewer choices hinge on things no one can control. Planning starts to feel less like insurance and more like intention.
• When it comes to impact, more often means less. Less land pressed into service. Less water pulled from stressed systems. Fewer adjustments made at the last minute. Nothing dramatic, just fewer pressures accumulating in the background.

From here, the implications extend outward. Mycelium grown through fermentation is not limited by soil, rainfall, or geography. It can expand into new regions without waiting for land to recover or supply chains to stabilise. As capacity grows, so does the possibility of producing protein closer to where it is eaten, easing pressure on land, water, and systems that are already stretched. Not in theory, but batch by batch, facility by facility.

What happens next depends less on invention and more on follow-through. More production sites. More partnerships that treat fermentation as infrastructure, not novelty. Clear pathways through regulation, procurement, and manufacturing, so this kind of protein can move from early adopters into everyday use.

The pieces are already on the table. The opportunity now is to connect them at speed, and let a different way of producing food become ordinary, reliable, and widely available. 

Resources

1. World Resources Institute: The World Is Growing More Crops — but Not for Food
2. FAO: Livestock emission data
3. Vegconomist: Infinite Roots Raises $58M in “Europe’s Largest Investment in Mycelium