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Chinese tech’s ‘Big Three’ BAT invested in agrifood deals worth $640m in 2019, a decline on 2018
The BAT group of companies may have invested less in agrifood startups in 2019 than in previous years – but they’re still betting big on the sector.
The BAT group of companies may have invested less in agrifood startups in 2019 than in previous years – but they’re still betting big on the sector.
Chilibeli’s agent network gives housewives the opportunity to re-sell fresh farm produce in their local communities at competitive prices.
As global venture capital is poised for a downturn, agri-foodtech investors observe the sector’s resilience and creativity amid near-term uncertainty.
With nearly €600k in cash, the investment group plans to make 10 investments before raising $2m-$4m in Q4. It’s also looking for acquisitions of brands that might struggle during the crisis.
Luckin Coffee scored one of China’s top agrifoodtech startup fundings just before its May IPO, while e-grocer MissFresh landed the country’s biggest deal.
TaniHub Group provides e-commerce, logistics, and financing services to Indonesian smallholders, helping them sell their produce to over 120,000 business and retail customers.
Alternative protein had a blockbuster year in 2019, doubling its 2018 funding dollars to $1 billion.
#SupportStartups collates a variety of special offers, discounts, and promotions from regional startups to drive traffic and boost revenues, while SEAcosystem is compiling a jobs database.
The brand recently raised a $2.7m seed round for its private-label snack line and platform helping other companies identify ingredients grown with regenerative practices.
Amatil X has invested in Kargo Technologies, a ‘truck-hailing’ platform that also counts Travis Kalanick’s VC firm as an investor.
Users can order health-conscious meals, groceries, and supplements through the Indian startup’s wellness marketplace.
The Singaporean startup’s blockchain platform offers enhanced supply chain visibility to the fruit industry – and it has Latin America in its sights.
The Bengaluru-based company is reported to have paid $20 million for the online milk-delivery specialist.
The third edition of AgFunder’s annual China AgriFood Startup Investing Report shows that the trade war and swine flu have taken a toll – but there are still plenty of reasons to be bullish.
Agrifood tech accelerator GROW and VC firm AgFunder will work with the UNDP’s Global Centre to select successful entries for its Cultiv@te innovation challenge.
Here’s how tech firms are working to prevent repeats of deadly food safety incidents like 2008’s adulterated infant formula scandal in China and 2018’s E. coli outbreak in the US.
Nature’s Fynd is a food brand using a proprietary volcanic microbe-produced protein, dubbed Fy, which contains all nine essential amino acids as well as dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamins.
Nusantics is aiming for a “bio-based future [of] value-added lifestyle products such as skincare, personal care, food, and beverage”.
The investment dovetails neatly with Meituan Dianping’s wider offerings, including doorstep meal delivery, groceries delivery, and restaurant reservations and recommendations.
A digital hospitality management point of sale system managed to close an oversubscribed investment round despite the global backdrop perhaps bolstered by its food delivery-related offering as other startups offer other means to avoid human interaction in the restaurant space.
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