Our Story
Team Funga is united by a goal to sequester 3 billion tons CO2 by 2050 through biodiversity restoration.
At Funga, we’re restoring biodiversity to address the climate crisis. By reintroducing native, growth-promoting fungal communities to forest soils, we are further empowering one of the biggest carbon-storing mechanisms on the planet: forests. Trees depend on symbiotic partners belowground (their microbiome) to access growth limiting soil resources , and yet traditional forestry practices have degraded this support system. We are driven by a desire to protect and restore the endless diversity of life that exists in our soils, and to see forests flourish in response.
Our Science is one part of our story. The work is brought to life by our incredible team of visionary scientists, forestry practitioners, business development leaders, and organization builders united by our shared Mission.
Our Mission
Restore the power of fungal biodiversity to forests, accelerating tree growth and carbon drawdown.
Company Milestones
OCT 2021: Founded Funga PBC
Built on 17+ years of research by Founder and CEO Dr. Colin Averill and decades of global research on the powerful role of the soil microbiome in forest health, Funga was incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation.
DEC 2022: Secured Seed Financing
Initial seed capital led by Azolla Ventures with participation from Trailhead Capital and Better Ventures enables key hires, data collection, and platform development.
DEC 2022–MAR 2023: Established First Field Trials
Funga established six field trials with academic partners and private landowners throughout the loblolly pine belt in the Southeastern US.
SEPT 2023: Signed First Land Agreement
Funga signs a 500+ acre pilot agreement to implement carbon projects powered by fungal inoculation.
SEPT 2023: Inoculated 1 Million Seedlings
In partnership with IFCO (now PRT-IFCO), successfully inoculated 1M seedlings to deploy for carbon project plantings.
NOV 2023: Measured First Field Trial
Funga measures the first field trial after one growing season, with top performing fungal communities significantly accelerating growth relative to controls.
NOV 2023–FEB 2024: Planted 1,550 Acres of Loblolly Pine Carbon Projects Powered by Fungal Inoculation
Established first carbon projects within loblolly pine stands owned by major Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs), and private landowners.
JAN 2024: Signed Pilot Agreement With Institutional Land Partner
Funga signs a 500+ acre pilot agreement to implement carbon projects powered by fungal inoculation.
JAN 2024: Awarded World Economic Forum's Trillion Trees Challenge: Restoration at Scale
Selected as one of 12 innovative ecopreneurial solutions that enable forest restoration at scale and deliver carbon sequestration.
JUN 2024: Convened Meeting With Verra and Major Stakeholders to Improve IFM Baselining Approaches
Led gathering of Verra, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy to propose introduction of randomized controlled trial (RCT) baselining methodologies, improving project-specific baseline alternatives and unlocking Improved Forest Management (IFM) methodologies for countries lacking national forest inventories.
JUN 2024: Secured Exclusive Partnership With North America's Largest Forest Seedling Provider
Funga and PRT-IFCO Growing Services enter into an exclusive partnership for Funga to provide inoculated seedlings to PRT-IFCO’s extensive landowner base.
NOV 2024: Secured >500K Ton Carbon Deal
Funga secured its first major deal to deliver more than 500,000 tons of carbon removal to a major corporate buyer, to be announced in 2025.
NOV 2024–FEB 2025: Planted 5,000 Acres of Loblolly Pine Carbon Projects Powered by Fungal inoculation
Established second year of carbon projects within loblolly pine stands owned by major REITs, TIMOs, and private landowners.
FEB 2025: The Arbor Day Foundation Partners With Funga
The global tree planting nonprofit’s Impact Fund, created to drive innovation in nature-based solutions, invests in Funga.
Our Values
We have five guiding principles to ensure our day-to-day work consistently aligns with our values.
1. Ownership Mindset
We have a responsibility to define and build the company we want to work for. We have a commitment to create a safe space for everyone to learn, fail, and grow. We lead our functions with conviction, respect the unique experience we each bring to the team, and trust our peers to do the same.
2. Holistic Climate Impact
We are here to drive big, fast, meaningful climate impact, and that means we sometimes say “no” to the status quo in order to make that happen. We measure our impact by the amount of carbon dioxide our work removes from the atmosphere and the biodiversity we reintroduce to managed landscapes.
3. Scientific Integrity
We achieve our climate impact by translating science into action. We commit to upholding scientific integrity and transparency with our team, customers, and partners. When we don’t know the answer, we say so, and work toward our best solution. We commit to shaping quality nature-based climate solutions based on evidence and experience.
4. Inclusion, Communication, and Collaboration
We are individuals from all walks of life whose backgrounds and experience make Funga a great place to work. We take pride in the diversity of our team and we are dedicated to maintaining and growing this diversity as we build. We prioritize timely, direct, and honest communication at all levels of the organization, challenge each other positively, and reflect together on past experiences in the spirit of learning and continuous improvement.
5. Balance
Our people are what make Funga great, and we perform at our best when our commitment to work is in balance with our personal well-being. We strive to maintain healthy expectations and speak up when our goals exceed our resources. We support employee well-being with a flexible time off policy and the best employee-sponsored benefits we can access with our scale. We meet quarterly in person to have fun and develop strong relationships with one another.
