Northwest Arkansas — Est. 2020

The Network
Beneath.

We build the infrastructure for technologies the world is still discovering. When the next wave arrives, we're already there.

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2020 Founded

A different kind
of network company.

In nature, mycelium connects every tree to every other tree — silently, underground, at a scale no one designed and no one controls. It predates, outlasts, and makes possible the entire ecosystem above it. We chose the name deliberately.

Since 2020, Mycelium has built the invisible infrastructure layer for technologies just arriving.

The technology changes with every wave. Our mission stays the same.

The framework behind
everything we've built.

01 The Host Network

The community
is the base layer.

Every network we deploy is physically grounded in local infrastructure — businesses, residents, and properties whose owners become active participants. Hosts are compensated directly from the revenue our networks generate. The community doesn't just benefit from what we build. It's part of how we build it.

02 The Testbed

Northwest Arkansas as
a living laboratory.

The technologies deployed across NWA operate under one umbrella: The Mycelium Testbed — recognized globally as a leading physical environment for emerging wireless deployment and testing. It's the mechanism that lets us onboard new technology quickly, across a live host network, and prove it in the real world.

03 The Deployment Arm

The rarest thing
in emerging tech.

6 years across six technology categories has produced something rare: the operational expertise to launch new network types at scale. Emerging wireless networks need a real-world deployment arm to cross from concept to reality. That's what Mycelium has become.

What We've Built.

IoT Coverage

Coverage first. Mycelium built one of the densest IoT radio networks ever deployed — blanketing Northwest Arkansas in months. The operational model we developed became a reference point for network builders worldwide.

Deployed

Hyperlocal Weather

Official weather stations are miles from where conditions actually matter. Mycelium deployed precision ground-truth sensors across the region — exact data, exact location, in real time.

Deployed

Precision Location

Standard GPS is accurate to a few meters. A distributed network of ground receivers can improve that to centimeters. Mycelium built one and added Northwest Arkansas to its global map.

Deployed

Cellular Connectivity

Cell coverage where the carriers couldn't — or wouldn't — reach: outdoor amphitheaters, packed stadiums, downtown corridors on busy nights. Proven across some of Northwest Arkansas's highest-traffic venues.

Deployed

Eyes on the Sky

Every aircraft in flight broadcasts its position. Mycelium deployed receivers that capture those signals and contribute them to a global open feed — putting Northwest Arkansas on an always-on map of the sky.

Deployed

Autonomous Flight

Drones operating at scale need ground infrastructure before they can become real. Mycelium is building that layer now, applying the same patient approach used across five technology categories before this one.

Coming Next

Where the
Network Lives.

Walmart AMP · Rogers, AR

Live Shows,
Reconnected.

The region's premier outdoor music venue — 11,000 max capacity — had a years-long connectivity problem on event days. What began as a 2023 deployment became standard: coverage that holds under full load, operational systems tied into the network, live weather data informing real-time show decisions.

Result: Consistent connectivity at capacity. Every show, every season.

Arvest Ballpark · Springdale, AR

Official Connectivity
Partner, 2025.

Named official connectivity partner of the NWA Naturals in 2025, Mycelium brought reliable cellular coverage to every corner of Arvest Ballpark. Scan a ticket, share the moment, book the ride home — without fighting for signal in a packed stadium.

Result: Seamless game-day experience from first pitch to final out.

Dickson Street · Fayetteville, AR

The Heart of
the Network.

The center of Fayetteville — students, events, weekend crowds — is where Mycelium built its densest coverage zone. Anchored by the Walton Arts Center and spanning the full length of Dickson Street, the network holds when thousands of people occupy the same few blocks.

Result: Always-on coverage at the center of city life.

Across Northwest Arkansas

Hundreds of Nodes.
One Community.

Beyond the marquee venues, Mycelium's network runs across hundreds of locations throughout the region — restaurants, shops, homes, and fairgrounds. Our long list of community hosts extend the network into the fabric of everyday life.

Result: A network that grows because the community wants it to.

1500+
Nodes
Deployed
150+
Locations
1600
sq mi
Testbed Region
6
Technology
Categories

Northwest Arkansas wasn't a convenience.
It was a choice.

Mycelium was built here and continues to operate here. The region's combination of industrial scale, civic energy, and entrepreneurial momentum provides both the proving ground and the community that make the work possible.

Three Fortune 500 headquarters in a region of under 700,000 people — real infrastructure demands at real scale.

A genuine startup ecosystem anchored by the University of Arkansas and a growing community of founders, investors, and builders.

A bedrock of community hosts who don't just benefit from the network — they extend it.

A model designed to expand into new regions, new partnerships, and new technology categories.

The next wave is
already forming.

Autonomous flight — drones operating at scale for logistics, monitoring, and emergency services — requires ground infrastructure before it can become real. Mycelium is building that infrastructure now.

We've been here before.

Recognized.

Built by an explorer
who found home.

Rishi Mittal founded Mycelium in the summer of 2020. A PricewaterhouseCoopers alumnus who first encountered Bitcoin in 2011, he moved to Northwest Arkansas a year before the pandemic, found a region that matched his energy, and decided to build something here.

Mycelium was the result — an organization built to find each new wave of emerging wireless technology, deploy it at scale, prove it works in the real world, and move forward to the next one.

In 2024, Mycelium completed the inaugural cohort of the Bounds Accelerator, backed by Coinbase Ventures and run by Cartwheel Startup Studio and the University of Arkansas — recognition that what's being built in Fayetteville has relevance well beyond it.

Rishi Mittal

Founder & CEO
2011 First encounter with Bitcoin — early understanding of open network infrastructure
2019 Relocates to NWA; recognizes the region as an ideal proving ground
2020 Founds Mycelium. Launches one of the densest IoT coverage networks ever deployed
2022–23 Expands into weather, precision location, and cellular. Partners with Walmart AMP
2024–25 Bounds Accelerator. Official connectivity partner, NWA Naturals. Flight tracking live
2026 Drone infrastructure in development. Coming soon.

Let's build
what's next.

Six years. Six technologies. A proven model and a clear view of what's forming next. If you're an investor or strategic partner, we'd like to hear from you.

Get in Touch