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All posts by Rob Leclerc
4 Reasons Why Israel is Now a Developed AgriFood Tech Hub
Two weeks ago, our CEO Rob Leclerc went to Israel to attend Food and Ag Week and here's what he discovered.
AgFunder To Host Office Hours for Corporates During World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit
The AgFunder Team receives many meeting requests from large and medium Corporates and so we're taking this opportunity to host office hours at our office here in downtown San Francisco
AgTech Industry Takes in $1.04 Billion in Q1
After the agriculture technology (AgTech) sector raised a total of $2.36 billion in 2014, the big question was whether or not the sector would continue to pick up momentum in 2015.
VC Q&A: Omnivore’s Mark Kahn on AgTech Investing
Editors Note: AgFunder recently sat down with Mark Kahn, founding partner of Omnivore Partners, a VC firm investing in early stage agriculture and food technology companies in India. Mark will be a panelist on Making the Case for AgTech in the Portfolio at the Global AgInvesting (GAI) conference in NYC April 27-30.
AgTech is the New Queen of Green
Editors note: Rob Leclerc is the CEO and Melissa Tilney is the Head of Marketing at AgFunder. This article originally appeared in TechCrunch.
Before Monsanto acquired Climate Corporation in late 2013 for nearly $1 billion, few investors gave much thought to technological innovation in our agriculture system.
Cold Storage Maker Ecozen Raises $1m from Omninvore Partners
Ecozen, which makes solar-powered cold storage and irrigation products for farmers, announced today that the company had raised a $1m Series A from Omnivore Partners. The company will use the funds to expand production capacity and expand its market research.
LemnaTec Secures $5.6M From Anterra Capital
LemnaTec which has developed a high-throughput research platform and agricultural analysis software, has received a $5.6 million equity investment from Anterra Capital. This news arrives after a successful financing round led by DEWB, the German private equity firm.
Farmers Edge Acquires GranDuke Geomatics
Taking a page out of Climate Corporation’s playbook, Farmers Edge acquired GranDuke Geomatics of Lethbridge, Alberta. According to an agreement finalized on January 9, the precision agriculture and data management company out of Winnipeg, Manitoba will now control GranDuke.
Finistere Opens $150M Agtech Fund
California-based Finistere Ventures announced that it opened a new agtech fund targeting $150M, in collaboration with Bayer Cropscience, AVAC and other partners. The Finistere II Fund will focus on identifying early-to-growth stage companies, focused on new technology solutions in sustainability, food productivity, and nutrition.
3D Robotics Raises $50M for Drone Expansion
On the heels of the Federal Aviation Administration’s recently proposed regulations on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), California-based 3D Robotics successfully raised $50 million Wednesday led by Qualcomm Ventures. This round of funding is the largest yet by a U.S.
Crowdfunding campaign raised $2M in 24 hours for Honey on Tap
Move over drones and Oculus Rift. There’s a new technology disrupting … the beekeeping industry. Flow Hive, with its patented beehive design, has raised $2M on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo since its campaign launched less than 24 hours ago.
Blume Distillation pulls in $1m Series B for waste to biofuels technology
Blume Distillation, which produced biorefinery equipment for bioethanol and other ethanol based end products, announced a $1 million Series B round led by GreenTech seed, and VC fund CC3IC (Climate Change Investigation Innovation and Investment Company).
AgriMetis Closes $7.3M Series A
AgriMetis, a biotech company developing crop protection agents, closed a $7.3m Series A led by Syngenta Ventures and Acidophil. Lutherville-based Agrimetis, which was co-founded in 2014 by Acidophil, is taking a new approach to keeping pests at bay on the farm.
Arcadia BioSciences planning to raise $86M on IPO
Sacramento-based Arcadia BioSciences, a plant trait biotech company, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed $86 million IPO led by Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, and Piper Jaffray.
Snoop Dogg to Raise $25m Fund for Cannabis Tech
Add Snoop Dogg to the growing list of investors entering the pot industry.
According to TechCrunch, Snoop plans to raise a $25 million fund to invest in tech companies related to the marijuana industry.
Village Capital’s AgTech Accelerator Announces Batch 2 Winners
Village Capital just wrapped up demo day for Batch 2 of their Agtech accelerator program (Ag Global Program), and have announced the the peer-selected recipients for $100,000 in funding. Village Capital’s funding model is unique in that at the end of the program, the participating companies select which two companies amongst their peers will receive $50,000 each in funding from Village Capital’s investment fund.
Earth Equity Farms nabs seed round
SEC filings report that Berkeley-based Earth Equity Farms has raised an additional $267k, bringing their total round to $822k, which they launched last year. According to the companies website, Earth Equity Farms is developing “sustainable Organic Fair Trade agriculture” through climate controlled greenhouses that “reduce water usage [generate] high production yields and near elimination of crop damage risk”.
The Andersons launches corporate VC arm, Maumee Ventures, to invest in agtech
The Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE), a publicly traded diversified agribusiness with operations in crops, commodity trading, ethanol, fertilizer, crop insurance, and logistics has thrown its hat into the agtech game with the launch of Maumee Ventures, a new corporate venture arm investing $500k-$5M in early stage innovations that are aligned with the company’s core businesses.
Green Biologics raises $76M in Debt and Equity
Green Biologics, a UK-based renewable chemical company, raised $76M to help support their recent plant acquisition in Minnesota. Green Biologics received $42 million in equity, led by Swire Pacific and Sofinnova Partners, and $34 million in debt financing led by Tennenbaum Capital Partners.