AgSpace, a UK ag big data startup, has been acquired by Origin Enterprises, the ag retailer and agronomy company for £11.4 million ($13.9m). A further payment of £4.8m ($5.9m) will be made if the company reaches its profit targets. AgSpace maintains over 10 years of farm data and produces farm reports including soil data, nutrient levels, seed rate and more. Find out more about the deal here.
BeeHex, a 3D food printing company that “promises to change the way food is made,” raised $1 million in seed funding led by Jim Grote, founder of Grote Company, a manufacturer of food processing equipment. The startup’s flagship product Chef 3D builds 3D food printing systems that assemble and deliver fresh foods.
HowGood, the sustainable food ratings company, raised $4.2 million in Series A funding. FirstMark Capital, Contour Venture, Serious Change LP, Great Oaks Venture, High Line Venture Partners, Humanity United, and individual investors joined the round. The company has rated over 200k products so far, and the ratings can be found in hundreds of stores across the US.
TL Biolabs, a startup offering $15 genomic tests for beef and dairy cattle, raised $4 million in seed funding. The seed round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and joined by Refactor Capital, UK entrepreneur Josh Buckley, and Y Combinator. Read more about the deal here.
Astro Digital, a satellite imagery startup, raised $16.65 million in Series A funding from a group of family offices, including existing investors. Find out more about Astro Digital’s growth plans here.
Boragen, a startup manufacturing next generation, synthetic fungicides using Boron, raised a $10 million Series A from AgTech Accelerator, Alexandria Venture Investments, ARCH Venture Partners, Bayer, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Elanco Animal Health, Flagship Pioneering, Hatteras Venture Partners, Mountain Group Capital, Pappas Capital and Syngenta Ventures. Read more here.
Epicrop Technologies, a startup using epigenetics to improve crop yields, raised $3.2 million in Series A funding. TechAccel invested alongside North Forty Ventures, which is the venture firm of Jeff Raikes, ex-CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ex-president of the Microsoft Business Division. Other investors were Nelnet, Speedway Properties, and New York investment bank Allen & Company. Read more here.
HarvestPort, the farm equipment sharing platform, raised $2.5 million in Series A funding led by Cultivian Sandbox and existing investor Taylor Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Taylor Farms. Read our exclusive news story on AgFunderNews here.
Hazel Technologies, a food waste technology startup based in Chicago, raised $800k in seed funding from Rhapsody Venture Partners, VentureWell and Valley Oak Investments. Find out more about the shelf life enhancement tech here.
AgroStar, which sells agricultural inputs and products to farmers, raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Accel Partners’ new India fund, and joined by IDG Ventures and impact investor Aavishkaar.
NBFC Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services, an Indian agriculture finance firm, raised $4.5 million in funding from Accel Partners fund and other existing investors.
Palaak.in, an Indian farm-to-consumer marketplace, raised seed funding from Vishwadeep Bajaj, CEO of digital marketing agency Valuefirst; Harsh Kundra, former CTO of Jabong and co-founder of Tolexo; Nandkumar Rane, head of agri & construction division at engineering conglomerate Escorts; LN Buddharaju, former CTO of National Library of Singapore; and Anupam Tyagi, India operations head at wireless tower operator American Towers, according to TechCircle.
Instacart, the online grocery delivery platform, has raised $400 million in Series D funding at a valuation of $3.4 billion. Sequoia Capital, Wellcome Trust, Y Combinator Continuity, Andreessen Horowitz, FundersClub, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Initialized Capital, Thrive Capital and Valiant Capital all contributed. Read more on TechCrunch.
Goldbely, an online food marketplace, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by European investment firm Global Founders Capital, Intel Capital, CrunchFund, 500 Startups, 645 Ventures and FundersClub.
Drizly, the online marketplace for alcohol, raised $17 million in Series D funding after extending the round. Polaris Partners led the round.
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