Data Snapshot is a regular AFN feature in which we analyze agrifoodtech market investment data provided by our parent company, AgFunder.
As any agrifoodtech observer would expect, the US was the out-and-out leader in terms of agrifoodtech investment during H1 2021 – just as it had been a year earlier in H1 2020.
In fact, preliminary figures indicate that US agrifoodtech companies banked a whopping $9.5 billion in total funding between the start of January and the end of June this year – almost twice the $4.9 billion they raised in H1 2020.
It was a similar story for Chinese agrifoodtech ventures. They scored total investment of $1.2 billion in H1 2020; in H1 this year, that almost quadrupled to $4.5 billion – though $2 billion of that went to Furong Xingsheng, a community group-buying platform for fresh produce and other groceries backed by e-commerce giant JD.
Likewise, India’s funding total went from $619 million in H1 2020 to $2 billion in H1 2021. The top deals involved food delivery app Zomato ($250 million); meat e-commerce platform Licious ($192 million); and e-grocer Grofers ($120 million).
Top 15 countries by funding (total US dollars invested), H1 2021
While the top three remained unchanged from a year previously — albeit, with much higher funding totals — there were a few surprises farther down the list.
Fourth place went to Turkey; though much of its $1 billion total is accounted for by an outlier. Istanbul-based food and groceries delivery app Getir raised three rounds across the first six months of the year, collectively bringing in $983 million.
Singapore took seventh spot. Despite its small size, the Asian city-state punches well above its weight when it comes to agrifoodtech, having cemented a reputation for itself as the counterweight to Silicon Valley. It clocked a funding total of $157 million in H1 2020; in the first half of this year, that had ballooned to $700 million.
Again, a single deal is responsible for most of that figure. Retail tech company Trax — which uses AI, cameras, and robotics to help retailers and CPG brands optimize shop floors and monitor inventory — raised $640 million for its Series E round in April.
Next Gen Foods just closed plant protein’s biggest-ever seed round – read more here
Other major rounds in Singapore during H1 included plant-based chicken maker Next Gen Foods‘ $10 million seed raise from Temasek, K3, and FEBE Ventures, among others; and restaurant discovery app Chope‘s $10.6 million Series E involving Singha Ventures and Square Peg Capital.
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