What a decade it’s been for the advancement of the food and agriculture industries! It was a decade spent catching up with other industries in the technological revolution. What’s in store for 2020? Five of the industry’s leading investors tell AFN.
Robotics and predictive analytics are becoming frontrunners in the poultry innovation race but moving companies from tech observers to tech investors will be the main challenge for the industry.
There’s no question that Silicon Valley is touted as the epicenter of innovation and venture capital in the world, but a few folks are starting to question whether the agri-foodtech investment ecosystem needs to plant roots elsewhere.
Tom Shields is a venture partner at AgFunder and works with the deal team on sourcing and leading investments. A serial entrepreneur, he has co-founded two highly successful companies, NetGravity (IPO 1998) and Yieldex (acquired by AppNexus/AT&T in 2015).
To make the most of the expertise in our network and provide as much value as possible to our readers, we are super proud to share the insights of our expert network.
This episode is perhaps a tad awkward as I interview my boss Rob Leclerc, founding partner of AgFunder, but Rob was as insightful as ever, sharing his thoughts on working in and around the agriculture sector for the past decade.
Weather events have plagued US crop production throughout the year, including severe floods and an early freeze. Using Indigo’s GeoInnovation platform, we take a deeper look and ask, could technology have helped farmers weather the storms better?
If you’re still on the lookout for agtech-themed holiday gifts, here’s a suggestion: How about a chocolate bar-sized portable DNA sequencer that accurately and quickly diagnoses wheat viruses? (More gift ideas welcome, by the way!)
From major equipment manufacturers’ forays into robotics to the emergence of new startups looking to improve farmer awareness of field activity, here’s what to watch for in the year ahead in the US, according to experienced agtech entrepreneur Corbett Kull.
The deal is the latest move for Telus in the agriculture and agtech space.
Front Range Biosciences and Hemp Trading are hoping to help hemp producers avoid having to destroy so-called “hot” crops for exceeding the USDA’s 0.3% THC limit
Sufresca, an Israeli startup designing edible fruit and vegetable coating solutions to reduce food waste and curb plastic packaging, has just raised $500,000 seed funding from the agri-foodtech VC Rimonim, the company disclosed to AFN.
The new funding will be used to help the North Dakota-based company launch new product features and make additional hires.
Investors included Omnivore and Better Capital, along with Omidyar Network India and Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up program Surge.
xFarm’s partnership-centric approach to farm data helped it secure €3 million in equity funding from Italy’s United Ventures and Switzerland’s TiVenture.
The Netherlands-based alt-protein company is one of a small number catching investor interest for farming insects for human consumption rather than for animal feed.
Hot on the heels of Aleph Farms sending some of its cultivated meat cells up into space to be 3D printed into a tiny, tiny piece of steak, another bold agri-food tech mission is setting its sights on the International Space Station.
India has a massive farm economy but the supply chain suffers from major inefficiencies that prevent farmers from optimizing farm profits.
It can be hard to explain exactly how Intelligent Growth Solution’s tech works, so we caught up with Niall Skinner, lead mechanical engineer at IGS to get an in-depth explanation.
The startup is trying to create a clearinghouse for fresh perishable produce products and hopes to expand beyond the US to other top-producing regions.
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International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator