Stay up to date with the most recent news, investments and partnerships regarding the agrifood tech industry and sustainability.
IPOs, M&As & Investments:
Alt-protein startup Planted has just raised over €70 million in a series B round. The Swiss company will use the capital to further its international expansion and partnerships.
Swedish grocery discounter Motatos (or Matsmart, as it’s known on home turf) announced a €38m Series D, bringing its total funding to €130m.
Neutral Foods closed a $12 million Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment fund co-founded by Bill Gates. The money will help continue its expansion onto the shelves of stores on the West Coast and expand in foodservice.
Indonesia’s agtech startup ARIA secured $5 million of seed funding led by East Ventures. The capital will help expand their drone fleet, develop key IoT asset tracking technologies, and bring value and impactful change to ARIA customers.
Argentina’s Puna Bio has raised $3.7 million for its seed treatment that strengthens crops against the impacts of climate change and soil degradation. The capital will help launch its first seed treatment, expand field trials and start on a regulatory pathway into the US and Brazil.
Jerusalem-based alt protein startup Mermade has announced an oversubscribed $3.3M seed round as it showcases a circular cellular agriculture technology for producing cultivated scallops.
Cultivated meat startup Clever Carnivore announces it is opening a new headquarters and lab in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The company also reveals it has raised $2.1M to date in pre-seed funding.
Diaspora Co., a high-quality, sustainably-focused spice business based out of Oakland recently closed a financing round of $2.1 million - the company’s first institutional capital - to expand its supply chain and build the team.
Better Bite Ventures, a VC fund with a focus on alternative protein, has invested an undisclosed amount in Greenest, an India-based plant protein brand.
Finnish startup Tracegrow bags an undisclosed amount of fresh capital to turn batteries into fertilizers. With the capital boost the company is set to expand operations.
In case you missed it…
Funds & Accelerators:
Jerusalem-based VC investment platform OurCrowd is launching a $30 million FoodTech Fund. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of startups exploring alternative, environmentally friendly ways to feed the planet’s burgeoning population.
Two of Western Canada’s leading marketing agencies, ZGM Inc and PS&Co, have launched the Ethical Foods Fund (EFF) — giving investors the chance to support the next generation of startups poised to reshape our global food system.
JV, Partnerships & Grants:
Shiru has announced a new partnership with Puratos to evaluate naturally occurring proteins that could serve as a next-generation egg replacement.
Cultured meat giant Aleph Farms has been officially recognized by the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) as an Innovation Sprint Partner.
Ceres Imaging has announced a long-term partnership with Soiltech Wireless under which Soiltech Wireless will deliver critical enabling technology for the Ceres platform which helps farmers build more profitable and sustainable operations.
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra and bioscience company, Royal DSM, have launched a precision fermentation startup to create sustainable dairy proteins.
A €13.1m research project is bringing together 22 partners from across Europe to investigate the role fermentation can play in creating novel, nutritious, plant-based ingredients.
FC Barcelona Femení and plant-based meat manufacturer Heura Foods have joined forces in a sponsorship agreement. Heura will work with the football club and its players to highlight the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Pizza Hut Singapore has unveiled a plant-based version of one of its best-selling creations in partnership with Beyond Meat.
Denim group Citizens of Humanity is partnering with cotton farmers in a long-term bid to secure all of its cotton from regenerative agriculture.
News & Trends:
Efforts by the beer industry to use regenerative agriculture as a way to lower emissions throughout its supply chain are facing “significant hurdles,” according to a report by Rabobank.
The first cultivated meat pilot plant of its kind in the U.K. is now open. Ivy Farm says its new 18,000-square-foot Oxford cultivated meat plant can produce nearly three tons of cultivated meat per year.
GOODLES, the mac and cheese brand backed by actress Gal Gadot, announced it has launched into US Whole Foods stores nationwide.
European cultivated fish product firm Bluu Seafood has highlighted its plans for region-specific product innovation in the Asia Pacific region, in the wake of its first product announcement and bid for regulatory approval in Singapore.
HappyVore, one of the leading startups on the French plant-based scene, this week announced the launch of its gourmet plant-based breaded supremes.
Scientists from NTU Singapore’s Food Science and Technology (FST) programme have developed a technique to cultivate a fungi-based food product that could serve as an alternative to plant-based protein.
Impossible Foods has launched its Impossible Chicken Patties for chicken sandwich lovers seeking to reduce their meat consumption and eat vegan.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute in Haifa have developed an innovative technology that enables the growth of "enriched seaweed" for human and animal needs.
Future Meat Technologies unveils cultivated lamb, aims to break ground on US facility early 2023: ‘Price parity has to be the goal’.