Celebrities are investing in food and agriculture.
Celebrities influence everything from the latest styles, haircuts, exercise trends, and vacation hotspots. But can they also influence people to think more carefully about sustainability, foodtech, and innovation in agriculture? According to Dublin-based biotech and artificial intelligence startup Nuritas, it’s worth a shot.
The company recently announced that U2 musicians Bono and The Edge have financially backed the company in a $2.129 million round, reports DublinLive. While many celebrity financiers prefer to keep their involvement quiet, Nuritas reportedly convinced the musical duo to reveal their involvement to help ramp up the company’s image as it looks to expand its workforce by 60 employees.
And earlier this week, Ember Technologies, a different sort of food tech company, closed a $31.8 million venture round funded solely by pro athletes and chart-topping musicians. Its flagship product is a coffee mug that keeps your drink at your perfect temperature for two hours or all day if you keep it on the company’s charging coaster.
This got us to thinking: which other celebrities are investing in food and agriculture technology companies?
While there are likely more, the following chart of 39 names provides a snapshot of where professional athletes, musicians, movie stars, and other celebs are investing their cash in the sector.
| Celebrity | Company | Investment round |
| Alternative Protein | ||
| Timothy Ferriss (entrepreneur, author and investor) | Exo Protein | $1.7M Seed |
| Amelia Boone (athlete) | Exo Protein | $4m Series A |
| Nasir “Nas” Jones via QueensBridge Ventures (US rapper) | Exo Protein
|
$4m Series A |
| Bill Gates | Beyond Meat | $17m Series E |
| Bill Gates | Impossible Foods | $108m Series D |
| Arielle Zuckerberg (sister of Mark) | Tiny Farms | Undisclosed Seed |
| Biotech | ||
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | AgBiome | $34.5m Series B (lead) |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Pivot Bio | $16m Series A |
| Andrew Ference (ice hockey player) | Full Cycle Bioplastics | Undisclosed Seed |
| Jamie McLennan (ice hockey player) | Full Cycle Bioplastics | Undisclosed Seed |
| Mike Commodore (ice hockey player) | Full Cycle Bioplastics | Undisclosed Seed |
| Cannabis | ||
| Snoop Dogg (via Casa Verde Capital – US rapper) | Eaze | $10m Series A |
| Whoopi Goldberg (actress) | Whoopi & Maya | Founding Investor |
| Snoop Dogg | Merry Jane | Founding Investor |
| Data & Software | ||
| Andy Murray (UK tennis pro) | Hectare.ag (Graindex & Sellmylivestock) | Crowdfunding |
| Andrew Ference | Harvestport | Undisclosed Seed |
| Jamie McLennan | Harvestport | Undisclosed Seed |
| Mike Commodore | Harvestport | Undisclosed Seed |
| Food Delivery & Related Tech | ||
| Demi Lovato (singer) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Nick Jonas (singer) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Joe Jonas (singer) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Ted Lilly (baseball pro) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Prince Amukamara (football pro) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Ndamukong Suh (football pro) | Ember Technologies | $31.8m Venture |
| Roy Choi (celebrity chef) | Munchery | $85k Venture |
| Demi Moore (actress) | Thrive Market | $30m Series A |
| John Legend (singer) | Thrive Market | $30m Series A |
| Toby McGuire (actor) | Thrive Market | $30m Series A |
| Michael Pierce (football pro) | Thrive Market | $30m Series A |
| Aziz Ansari (comedian) | Ando | $7m Series A |
| Jimmy Fallon (comedian) | Ando | $7m Series A |
| Kevin Quinn (actor) | Try the World | $2.3m Series A |
| Ashton Kutcher (actor) | GrubMarket | $20m Series B |
| Jared Leto (actor) | Plate Joy | $1.7m Seed |
| Jared Leto (actor) | Reserve | $15m Series A |
| Jared Leto (actor) | Nom | $4.75m Series A |
| Andy Murray (tennis pro) | Mindful Chef | $1m on Seedrs |
| Victoria Pendleton (gold medal Olympian) | Mindful Chef | $1m on Seedrs |
| Will Greenwood – (rugby world cup champ) | Mindful Chef | $1m on Seedrs |
| Andrew Tobias (journalist and author) | Gather | $3m Series A |
| Food Products | ||
| Beyonce (singer) | WTRMLN WTR | Founding investor |
| 50 Cent (rapper) | Vitamin Water | Unknown |
| Mark Cuban (entrepreneur and investor) | Alyssa’s Cookies | Unknown |
| Michael Pollan (activist) | Back to the Roots | $2m Seed |
| Leonardo DiCaprio (actor) | Runa | Undisclosed Venture |
| Jared Leto (actor) | Blue Bottle Coffee | $74.96m Series A |
| Tony Hawk (skateboard pro) | Blue Bottle Coffee | $74.96m Series A, $15m Series B |
| Snoop Dogg | Philz Coffee | $15m Series B |
| Nasir “Nas” Jones (via QueensBridge Ventures) | Philz Coffee | $15m Series B |
| Jonah Hill (actor) | Philz Coffee | $15m Series B |
| Jamie Kennedy (comedian) | Philz Coffee | $15m Series B |
| Indoor Ag | ||
| Timothy Ferriss | Grove Labs | $412k Equity Crowdfunding |
| Precision ag | ||
| Richard Branson (entrepreneur) | 3D Robotics | $7M Series B |
| James Cameron (movie director) | Planetary Resources | $21m Series A |
| Waste tech | ||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Rubicon | Undisclosed |
Did we miss a food & agtech celeb investor? Let us know! [email protected].
For more on the topic of celebrity investors:
ZNET: 18 celebrities who are huge tech investors
Business Insider: The 22 most active celebrity startup investors
Refinery29: Celebrity-Backed Investments
Guardian: Kobe Bryant joins long list of celebrities investing in tech
Inc: The 10 Top Celebrity Startup Investors
Forbes: Top Celebrity Investors And What They’re Invested In
