Hempitecture: Building the Future of Hemp
Hempitecture, a 2022 Grow-NY $500,000 prize winner, offers some of the most sustainable plant-based building materials on the planet — hemp-based insulation that is a direct replacement for traditional pink fiberglass. This innovation helps buildings stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, emits no toxins, and provides acoustic benefits.
Since winning Grow-NY, the startup has begun to put their plans for a full-scale hemp processing and manufacturing facility in New York to work. Currently, Hempitecture’s production occurs in Idaho, close to its hemp farms in Montana. According to co-founder and COO Mattie Mead, the transportation of insulation to the East Coast from the manufacturing hub in Idaho is costly and carbon-intensive, necessitating an East Coast expansion. This expansion will allow Hempitecture to further strengthen its manufacturing capabilities, develop its supply chain, and finalize its product offerings — plus, it paves the way for other hemp companies to put down roots in New York.
Mead explains, “A business like Hempitecture’s cannot exist in a silo — it is a business model enabled by three components working synergistically: agricultural supply chains, raw material conversion manufacturing, and an active and growing customer base.”
Hempitecture’s hub will strengthen and connect the entire hemp ecosystem in New York — from farmers to manufacturers to customers — so the industry can actually function and scale.
In 2025, the company raised over $6 million through equity crowdfunding to support the new manufacturing hub. The funding built on a $1.1 million grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and $8.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2024.
Hempitecture’s expansion is especially significant given the history of the hemp industry in New York State. The federal legalization of hemp cultivation in 2018 sparked a major rush to claim part of the industry early on. However, the state lacked the infrastructure to support large-scale processing and manufacturing facilities, and the costs for startups were too monumental to establish them, ultimately stalling the state’s hemp industry. Today, Cornell University, along with New York State, is working to revitalize the industry, in part by supporting startups like Hempitecture.
Hempitecture’s journey illustrates how strategic investment and a supportive innovation ecosystem can turn early challenges into long-term opportunity. What began as a struggling hemp industry in New York is now being reshaped through partnerships between startups, universities, and state agencies. With the state’s backing, companies like Hempitecture are not only scaling sustainable technologies, but also helping to lay the foundation for a resilient, climate-forward manufacturing sector in New York, one that transforms agricultural potential into real economic and environmental impact.