Brief: Walmart robot provider Symbotic announces $5.5bn SoftBank SPAC
Symbotic said it’ll use the proceeds to “accelerate its growth plans” and “efficiently deliver on its contracted backlog.”
Symbotic said it’ll use the proceeds to “accelerate its growth plans” and “efficiently deliver on its contracted backlog.”
The Italian startups will combine their businesses to help 80,000 farms boost efficiency across 1 million hectares using data.
CEO Anthony Tan said the company will invest part of the proceeds into mapping tech in order to “deliver groceries more efficiently.”
Many of big deals during H1 involved startups automating simple, everyday tasks within broader agricultural operations.
Vestkorn Milling supplies proteins, fibers, and starches to manufacturers of plant-based meat alternatives, pet foods, and animal feed.
The Hamilton, Montana-based company claims its produce reaches shelves “in record time post-harvest” due to its facility’s proximity to retail partners.
The world’s largest meat processor plans to acquire a majority stake in Spanish cultivated meat company BioTech Foods.
The deal will add a layer of self-driving capabilities to Fieldin’s existing farm management platform, which relies on tractor-mounted sensors.
Wolt CEO Miki Kuusi will become head of DoorDash International, leading its global expansion efforts and reporting directly to the US company’s CEO Tony Xu.
Soil Metrics was spun-out of Colorado State University in 2019 to commercialize “biogeochemical” soil modeling techniques.
Freshmart was founded in 2016 and claims to have an 18-20% share of the online food market in Peru.
David Rosenberg, the vertical ag company’s CEO, said that “proceeding with this transaction is not in the best interests of our shareholders.”Â
The acquisition brings added data analytics capabilities to Bushel, which it says will help farmers and facilities make more profitable decisions.
It has also struck partnerships with Farmer Mac and Indigo Ag, which will use the combined platforms to further their own financing and carbon offerings.
“You will probably see more strategic partnerships and acquisitions from Semios,” Michael Gilbert tells AFN.
Artemis and iUNU will explore opportunities to offer more financing solutions to their CEA customers after the deal completes.
Since the start of the year six agtech SPAC deals have been announced – most involving indoor farming or biotech, and all valued at over $1 billion.
M&A activity was concentrated in the US, which hosted over half of all deals – with Europe and Asia Pacific accounting for 19% and 11% respectively.
The deal originated when FarmlandFinder CEO Steven Brockshus sent a message to the real estate company CEO on LinkedIn looking for guidance on growth.
The startup will use the capital to cement its presence in India and expand its food quality assessment platform to the Middle East and Europe.
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