The big story this week: Are GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic an ‘existential threat’ to the food industry or an opportunity for some creative thinking? Elsewhere, Infinite Roots raised a cool $58m to scale its mycelium-based platform, AgFunder portco IGS netted $28.6m for vertical farming tech, Bluewhite raised $39m to expand its ag robotics operation, while Elo Life Systems bagged $20.5m to scale its plant breeding tech. We've also got some highlights from the recent cell ag innovation day at...
11 months ago • 3 min read
Can cultivated meat transition from a loss-making novelty served at a handful of high-end restaurants to a commercially viable alternative to animal ag? This week, Elaine Watson spoke with a raft of startups and investors in the space, while Jenn Marston caught up with the VP of automation at John Deere to talk about the last 10 years in agtech. It's also been a big week for Entobel, which opened Asia's largest insect protein plant, and Solar Foods, which bagged $8.8m to grow protein from...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Invest with us Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon Meet us! Rob Leclerc is speaking at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit, September 26-27. Register to join 8,000 participants here. Sofia Ramirez, Louisa Burwood-Taylor, and Jenn Marston will be at the Rethink events in London at the end of September. Email sofia@agfunder.com to arrange a meeting. Africa agrifoodtech investment report, 2023 New! NEW REPORT: African agrifoodtech startups face headwinds...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon Meet us in London! Sofia Ramirez, Louisa Burwood-Taylor, and Jenn Marston will be at the Rethink events in London at the end of September. Email sofia@agfunder.com to arrange a meeting. Africa AgriFoodTech Investment Report - 2023 New! NEW REPORT: African agrifoodtech startups face headwinds as VC funding drops sharply from record-breaking 2022By John Njiraini Download the free report here...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon AFN Industry and Funding News Eat Just’s GOOD Meat division hasn’t paid its bills, says bioreactor co; parties in arbitrationBy Elaine Watson Equilibrium & Bosch Growers submit winning bids for AppHarvest’s KY greenhousesBy Jennifer Marston Eat Just closes financing round, moves ‘closer to operational profitability’ at JUST EggBy Elaine Watson The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, unveils innovation center,...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon AFN Industry and Funding News ‘No comment’ from Indigo Ag on valuation nose-dive reportBy Jennifer Marston CH4 Global raises $29m to scale seaweed-based platform to slash methane emissions from livestock: ‘We can grow it at a much larger scale, frankly, than anybody else’By Elaine Watson Bio-input startup Pivot Bio blazes past $100m revenue mark, appoints a new CEOBy Jennifer Marston Grocery...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon AFN Industry and Funding News Entocycle & Bühler partner to cut the ‘trial and error’ phase from large-scale BSF productionBy Jennifer Marston Alt protein isn’t dead yet says ENOUGH as it raises $43.6m to scale up mycoprotein productionBy Elaine Watson Grain-trading platform Bushel raises $26m to build up ‘the Holy Grail’ of agrifintech softwareBy Jennifer Marston Jellatech lands $3.5m to...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon AFN Industry and Funding News Morphine from microbes? Fermelanta wins Japan agrifoodtech pitchBy Elaine Watson New Culture targets cost parity for animal-free mozzarella in three years: ‘We’ve achieved technical metrics unheard of for animal-free casein’By Elaine Watson ‘Boil the weed inside out’: RootWave launches high-frequency, ‘regen ag-friendly’ weed zapper for orchardsBy Jennifer Marston...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Invest With Us! Last call for AgFunder Fund IV: $90m closed already; final close of $100-125m soon AFN Industry News Beyond Meat CEO under fire after grim Q2, 2023 results: ‘The overall pie is not growing’By Elaine Watson NotCo exits refrigerated plant-based milk segment in US, switches focus to shelf-stableBy Elaine Watson Should ag lenders and crop insurers offer ‘good soil discounts’ to farmers? Land Core develops ‘actuarially sound model’ to make it possibleBy Elaine Watson Climate...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read