Jack Ellis, Author at AgFunderNews

Jack Ellis

Brief: Oatly sues UK farm over PureOaty plant-based milk brand

June 14, 2021

Glebe Farm owner Phillip Rayner said that “although Oatly are much bigger than us, we do not believe we have done anything wrong.”

Brief: Chinese e-grocery giants Dingdong, Missfresh file for US IPOs

June 11, 2021

Both companies source fresh produce from farmers and agribusinesses and deliver it to consumers, who can order groceries through a mobile app.

Brief: Meat giant JBS pays $11m bitcoin ransom to ‘Russia-linked’ cyberattackers

June 10, 2021

The world’s biggest meat packer said that “preliminary investigation results confirm that no company, customer, or employee data was compromised.”

Brief: Cargill CEO MacLennan says plant-based will ‘cannibalize’ its protein business

June 9, 2021

He also said that the agribusiness giant doesn’t expect China’s domestic livestock feed industry to become self-sufficient anytime soon.

Plant-based ‘NUGGS’ maker SIMULATE raises $50m from Ohanian fund, McCain Foods

June 8, 2021

The New York-based startup will use the funds to expand its team, accelerate new product development, and grow its manufacturing capabilities.

Plant-based ‘whole egg’ startup Float Foods scores seed funding from VCs, corporates

June 8, 2021

The Singaporean startup has created OnlyEg: a legumes-based ‘whole egg’ replacement that comprises a separate white and yolk.

Ginkgo Bioworks partners Asian chemicals giant Sumitomo

June 7, 2021

“We’re looking forward to combining [Ginkgo’s] genome editing and fermentation capabilities with our chemical technologies and industry insights in health and crop sciences,” said Sumitomo Chemical CTO Hiroshi Ueda.

Pulses detected: How regional crops could hold the key to Asia’s alt-protein future

June 7, 2021

Two recent research reports have shone a light on the potential role that pulses could play in delivering the Asia-Pacific region’s protein needs.

After closing $27m maiden fund, Tenacious Ventures seeks to scale-up Australian agrifoodtech

June 4, 2021

Tenacious Ventures has invested $11.5 million in six startups so far, with a further 10 or so deals expected out of its newly closed fund.

Future Food 🎙️: Why Bayer’s former CEO joined a startup working on microbial crop protection

June 3, 2021

AgBiome is using its intricate understanding of the plant-related microbiome to develop biological solutions to infections, insects, and nematodes.

HR management platform Ganaz raises $7m Series A funding from Trilogy Equity, AgFunder

June 3, 2021

The Seattle-based startup seeks to lower costs for employers in ag and food manufacturing by automating processes like hiring, training, and payment of wages.

Better than bees? Arugga nets $4m for its indoor pollination robots

June 2, 2021

The Israeli startup claims that pilots of its tech have demonstrated results “at least as good” as both bees and manual pollination, with greenhouse tomato yields improved up to 15%.

Quorn Pieces in a Cantonese sweet and sour

Quorn maker lists at $5bn valuation; plots US expansion of alt-protein portfolio

June 1, 2021

Monde Nissin raised just over $1 billion in its Philippines IPO – and is earmarking much of it for expansion in the US.

Delhivery branded lorry pulling into depot

Brief: Delhivery raises $277m in pre-IPO round

May 31, 2021

It started out as a last-mile food delivery app in 2011 before branching out to become a ‘full stack’ logistics and fulfillment platform.

Jai Kisan’s fintech for farmers nets $30m Series A from Mirae Asset, Syngenta

May 30, 2021

The Mumbai-based startup says it has handled rural business transactions worth over $385 million during the past year, financing more than 15% of them itself.

Climate-conscious sovereign wealth funds opt for energy, transport investments over agrifood: study

May 28, 2021

Sovereign wealth funds are focusing on “property and infrastructure while multi-asset and whole portfolio approaches are still rare,” a new report says.

Future Food 🎙️: How Bowery reached $2.3bn and is building its biggest farm yet

May 27, 2021

Bowery just closed the biggest-ever vertical farming funding round. Listen to our recent podcast with its CEO Irving Fain here.

Brief: EU drops plans to restrict marketing of plant-based dairy alternatives

May 26, 2021

Amendment 171 could have prevented brands from displaying allergen or climate information on packaging – or even from showing images of the product itself.

The Yield Lab Europe secures $61m for sustainable agrifoodtech fund

May 26, 2021

The fund has hit its second close following capital injections from the European Investment Fund, Invest-NL, and Allied Irish Banks, among others.

Kula Bio banks $10m seed funding to fix nitrogen, carbon in the soil

May 25, 2021

The Boston-based startup’s Kula-N can produce nutrients “only when the plant needs,” by applying “energized” bacteria that fix both nitrogen and carbon in the soil.