28 January, 2011
Stay up to date with the most recent news, investments and partnerships regarding the Agrifood Tech industry and sustainability.
IPOs, M&As & Investments:
Alternative protein-focused VC Unovis Asset Management has closed an oversubscribed €146 million second fund, approximately $166 million, with commitments from institutions, impact funds and investors globally
Bulgarian VC firm Eleven Ventures has announced its Eleven Fund III which will bring €60 million investment to South-Eastern Europe.
Swiggy, India’s top food delivery startup, has raised $700 million in a new financing round, just six months after securing $1.25 billion, as it aggressively expands its offerings, including the instant-delivery service in the South Asian market
Indoor, vertical farming company Plenty, announced it has secured $400 million in a Series E financing round and Walmart as a strategic partner in the deal.
Restaurant tech startup Deliverect announced it has raised $150 million, in a Series D round of funding that values the company at over $1.4 billion.
Israel’s 3D-printed plant-based meat innovator Redefine Meat has closed a $135 million investment round. Funding will be used to build production lines in Israel and the Netherlands.
Athletic Greens raised $115 million in funding led by Alpha Wave Ventures that drives its valuation above $1 billion and gives it a well deserved unicorn status.
High-end jerky maker Chomps has secured an $80 million minority investment from private equity firm Stride Consumer Partners, according to the snacking company’s CEO.
Kula Bio, a US-based startup developing a biological fertilizer, has raised $50 million in Series A funding to increase production capacity and further innovate on its technology.
Starship Technologies, is picking up some funding along with an endorsement in Europe to further its growth. In fact, the startup has received €50 million from the European Investment Bank, the funding arm of the European Union.
Brazilian ag fintech startup TerraMagna recently raised $40 million in funding from Japanese tech giant SoftBank and other investors.
Indonesian fishery and marine platform Aruna has raised US$30 million in a follow-on Series A round led by Vertex Ventures bringing its total Series A funds to US$65 million.
Japanese snack subscription service and e-grocery company Bokksu, raised $22 million in Series A funding at a $100 million valuation. The company will use the funding to expand its product assortment, produce more original content and hire new talent.
Latin American grocery startup Calii raises $22.5 million. Dalus Capital and JAM Fund co-led the Series A round for the Mexican company
Bijak, a business-to-business agricultural trade platform, has raised 19.37 million as a part of its Series B funding round and will use the capital for their overall growth.
Kencko, the plant-based, blender-free smoothie company, raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand into new categories.
Israeli food-tech start-up ChickP Protein has completed a Series A investment round, raising a total of $8 million.
Woflow, a data infrastructure company, raised $7.3 million in Series A funding to continue developing its automated approach to bring offline data online
Black Sheep Foods, a startup making plant-based heritage breed meats and wild game, took in $5.25 million in seed funding as it continues developing its patent-pending flavor compounds.
Latin America’s first carbon-neutral food company, Nude, has closed a $5 million Series A funding round. Funding will be used to increase production and develop new lines.
Pioneering ultra-high pressure fluid jet solution Susterre Technologies has successfully raised over $2 million in seed round financing.
Goodfynd raises $1.8 million to help the food truck industry. Valor Ventures co-led the round with additional capital from Accion Venture Lab and strategic angel investors.
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German startup Gorillas announced its plans to acquire Frichti, a French startup that delivers both ready-to-eat meals and groceries. The acquisition hasn’t closed just yet but both companies have entered exclusive discussions.
With its purchase of Wisconsin-based Cultured Decadence, cell-based meat company Upside Foods is adding lobster to its portfolio
AXIOS Sustainable Growth Acquisition, files for IPO with an initial $125 million public offering. The aim is to accelerate agtech in Eastern Europe.
News & Trends:
Danone North America's Soil Health Initiative Exceeds 2022 Goal, Further Advancing a Leading Comprehensive Program in Dairy Industry
Farmers are putting off planting trees because of the uncertainty surrounding the government’s plans for subsidies based on protecting nature, delaying the UK’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and stem the drastic decline in farmland wildlife
The U.S. Department of Energy has a new goal to scale up direct air capture, a technology that uses chemical reactions to capture CO2 from the air
As big fast food chains, grocers, and food manufacturers roll out sustainability plans, some are specifically committing to increasing and promoting their plant-based offerings, which are much less carbon-intensive than conventional meat and dairy products.
In Kenya, Nairobi and Amsterdam-based Apollo Agriculture is building a pathway to commercial farming
After two decades in the U.S. market, fermented meat analogue company Quorn is ready to grab a much bigger share of the chicken sector.
PepsiCo and Beyond Meat are launching vegan jerky.
Vegan brand Wicked Kitchen has outlined plans to expand into other UK retail channels this year, building on the exclusive distribution deal it has had with Tesco since 2018.
US vertical farming company Fifth Season is building its second robotic vertical farm in Columbus, Ohio, in order to fulfil the demand for fresh greens and ready-to-eat salads.
Singaporean food tech firm KosmodeHealth has successfully demonstrated the low-GI - or rather, 'zero-GI' - benefits of its W0W Noodles with evidence from a new research study.
Israeli startup Trigo has inked a deal with Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, to pilot Trigo’s AI-based autonomous supermarket checkout system.
Alt-meat startup Atlast Food Co. is officially re-branding as MyForest Foods. The new name is meant to reflect the natural growing environment of mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms used to make alternative protein.
FoodShot Global, a platform promoting transformative food systems solutions, recently announced the winners of its second MoonShot for Better Food Challenge, Precision Protein
This week, NASA announced $1 million in total prize money for innovations as part of Phase 2 of its Deep Space Food Challenge
The ProVeg Incubator accelerator programme is looking for innovative alt-protein startups to take part in its latest cohort. Applicants must be developing high-impact alternatives to animal products and ingredients.
The Indian government has announced that it will subsidize the purchase of agricultural drones by up to 100% for certain organizations in the sector, in order to offer training and encourage adoption of the technology
Unilever says around 1,500 jobs will be cut globally in a business shake-up that will see the company split its foods and refreshment division.
PepsiCo Europe plans to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in all of its chip bags by 2030. The food and beverage giant proposes using 100% recycled or renewable plastic instead, reducing greenhouse gasses (GHGs) from film packaging by up to 40%
Sentinel Fertigation, a technology company that has developed a platform to quantify nitrogen status in crops, has announced a strategic partnership with Agri-Inject, a crop protection and fertigation products company
China has published its national plan to bolster economic growth and food security through both alternative proteins and additional trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants.
The global blockchain in the agriculture and food market was valued at $139.6 million in 2020, which is expected to grow with a CAGR of 51.0% and reach $1,488.0 million by 2026
Marine aquaculture or “mariculture’’ colloquially, is gaining esteem as a sustainable food source for a seven billion plus human population
A new study could help to breed more resilient crops as well as shed light on mechanisms that play a critical role in plant growth
Rewilding teams in Finland are facing a huge task to encourage the return of wildlife after decades of damage by the forestry industry
A team of researchers in the US has conducted four studies to better understand how genetically modified organism (GMO) labelling policies impact consumer choice