[Disclosure: AgFunderNews’ parent company is AgFunder.]
With purse strings considerably tighter, investors’ biggest bets in 2025 tended towards startups innovating beyond the borders of agtech or foodtech. Think energy, fintech, and deep tech, to name a few.
The AgFunder team will present full investment figures for 2025 in the coming months with the launch of its annual Global AgriFoodTech Investment report, including total funding for the year.
In the meantime, the preliminary numbers tell us who is raising capital right now and what to keep an eye on in 2026.
What’s leading: Bioenergy & biomaterials
Funding in 2025: $1.3 billion
Deal count: 72
Why it matters: Grid reliability concerns and rising data demand help explain why eight of the top 10 startups in this category focus on renewable energy. In agrifood, energy underpins most activities—and is often the biggest bottleneck to innovation. Meanwhile, continued talk around microplastics and planetary health is increasing interest in potential alternatives for packaging, textiles, and other materials.
What’s up: Ag marketplaces
Funding in 2025: $772 million
Deal Count: 65
Why it matters: Two companies from India accounted for more than half the category’s funding, underscoring the country’s longtime lead in this area. Hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers in India seeking access to markets and credit are the backbone of the category, the bulk of which remains concentrated in emerging markets.
What’s down: Innovative food
Funding in 2025: $590 million
Deal count: 112
Why it matters: Between a “dire” performance for Beyond Meat and high-profile cultivated players such as Believer Meats calling it quits, investor confidence in the sector is a pale comparison to the past. Funding in 2025 declined by close to 60% year on year, and by more than 80% from the $3.3 billion raised in banner year 2022.
What’s surprising: Farm robotics, mechanization & equipment
Funding in 2025: $590 million
Deal count: 67
Why it matters: Despite a seemingly endless slew of fundraises for this category in 2025, Farm robotics clocked in second to last for funding to upstream categories. However, the main driver for growth in this area—labor—will continue to be a challenge for growers and therefore an opportunity for startups.
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