The Material Innovation Initiative (MII), which championed the next-generation materials movement since its founding in 2019, is closing its doors.

The think tank helped innovators secure over $2 billion in investments, with $504 million of that obtained last year alone. Yet those funding wins couldn’t save the nonprofit itself, as operations are set to shutter, per an email sent by Thomasine Dolan Tuesday morning.

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“After a thorough evaluation and much deliberation, the board of directors and the executive leadership team have made the difficult decision to wind down MII’s operations,” Dolan’s email reads. “While this is goodbye for MII, we hope the impact of our work will continue to resonate across the industry.”

That impact includes facilitating countless partnerships between brands and innovators, serving on the New York City Mayor’s Office task force to source sustainable materials and contributing to increasing the overall visibility of next-gen materials through events and press, reportedly reaching a readership of over 100 million.

“Our mission was clear: to accelerate the development of high-quality, high-performance, animal-free and environmentally preferred next-generation materials,” Dolan wrote. “We envisioned a world where the materials used in fashion, automotive and home goods industries would protect human rights, mitigate climate change, spare animals’ lives and preserve our planet for future generations.”

Since beginning this journey five years ago, the materials industry has seen dramatic fluctuations, like the surprising collapse of industry darling Renewcell and Bolt Threads halting operations on its leather alternative Mylo. As the MII wrote in its fourth state of the industry report, the nascent next-gen sector went through the Trough of Disillusionment—a period where innovation progresses via over-enthusiasm before facing cynicism.

According to the group, the “innovation trigger” stage seemed to be in 2018, when many startups had their first round of venture capital funding. The “peak of inflated expectation” took place in 2020 when next-gen materials were violently trendy. And while 2023 saw questions about the sector’s viability creeping in, the MII believed the industry could recover.

“We continue to work with many companies that are doing the hard work: improving their products based on early feedback, tackling the scaling challenges and breaking out of the existing paradigm around what to innovate and what are the possible applications,” the nonprofit said at the time. “Let’s take this journey up the slope together.”