Routrek, a Japanese sensing, IoT, and automation company, has raised $3.46 million in Series B funding for its Zero.agri product. Zero.agri optimizes and automates irrigation and fertilization. A variety of investors participated in the round, including Oisix, one of the largest food e-commerce players in Japan, a corporate fund ran by sensor manufacturers Omron and Ricoh, and Globis Capital Partners, a well-established VC fund in Japan.
KnipBio, a Harvard-based biotechnology company manufacturing aquaculture feed, closed a $2 million Series B led by Providence-based biopharma investors Cherrystone Angel Group with participation from Boston-based early-stage angel group LaunchPad Venture Group.
Byte Foods, a company making IoT-connected automated vending machines and refrigerators serving local foods, raised $5.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Philadelphia-based family office Spring Creek Investment Management with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and early-stage hardware and software backers Bolt. The company is targeting offices to provide employees with better and heartier meal options than traditional vending machines. Earlier last year, Byte acquired smart fridge kiosk company Pantry, which you can read about here.
Weedingtech, a British company that designs and manufactures weed and moss control technologies for agriculture and food processing, closed a $3.68 million venture round led by London-based private equity fund manager Calculus Capital with participation from Enterprise Investment Scheme, a UK government program that provides tax reliefs for investors in small and medium-sized businesses.
Agro Intelligence, a Danish sensor and automation company, raised an undisclosed round from major agriculture products and services company Kongsklide. One of the startup’s endeavors involves creating a counterpart to Google Maps to guide farmers through fields when fertilizing.
Grain, a full-stack food delivery company in Singapore that manages the end-to-end customer experience, completed an undisclosed Series A led by Southeast Asia-based early-stage tech funders NSI Ventures with participation from Southeast Asia early-stage backers DMP VC, and Raging Bull founder Ivan Lee.
