This post has been updated to include a statement from FMC Corporation.
Agricultural chemicals company FMC Corporation has changed the organizational structure of its VC investment arm FMC Ventures, AgFunderNews has learned, letting go of staff in the process.
Mark S. Brooks, managing director of FMC Ventures, confirmed the news via an email to AgFunderNews, which understands that all three members of the FMC Ventures team would see their roles eliminated.
AgFunderNews reached out to FMC Corporation and received the following response from executive vice president and CFO Andrew D. Sandifer:
“FMC remains committed to innovation in agricultural technology. While we have made changes to our organizational structure to optimize operations, FMC Ventures continues to operate and manage its existing portfolio of investments under the leadership of Zack Zaki, Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Development.”
Lower commodity prices, high costs and myriad issues related to climate change and supply chains have created a tough environment for ag input companies like FMC.
At the same time, agtech investment has been badly hit (some might say utterly pummeled) by the wider tech downturn. Despite predictions that investment is bouncing back, capital remains tight. Just last week, Brooks penned a guest post for AgFunderNews outlining the need for new capital models in agtech investment.
In November 2024, FMC completed the sale of its Global Specialty Solutions business to environmental science company Envu.
