AgFunder Network Partners

Category: Robotics & Automation

Infarm raises $170m in first close of Series C

September 17, 2020

Infarm says that by 2025 its operations will reach more than 5 million square feet to become the largest distributed vertical farming network in the world.

BREAKING: Dendra and its ‘forest-patrolling drones’ close $10m Series A from Airbus, others

September 16, 2020

The UK-Australian startup uses AI, data analytics, drones, and ecological expertise to restore carbon and biodiversity to degraded land.

BREAKING: Automated pest control startup Trapview nets $4.4m from impact investors, Japan’s Kubota

September 10, 2020

To spray, or not to spray: That is the question Trapview wants to answer, with the hope its tech can reduce reliance on potentially harmful insecticides.

Saga Robotics raises $11m to develop robo-strawberry pickers

September 2, 2020

Despite its disastrous impact elsewhere, Covid-19 may have improved the investment outlook for farm robots, according to Saga Robotics’ latest backers.

Vertical farming software startup iFarm raises $4m

August 20, 2020

The round was led by Gagarin Capital Partners, with Matrix Capital, Impulse VC, IMI.VC, along with various undisclosed business angels joining in.

Root AI raises $7.2m from AgFunder, Calacanis to deploy its ‘cross-crop robot’ workforce

August 13, 2020

The pandemic has created a perfect opportunity for ag robotics startups to flex their muscle, founder and CEO John Lessing tells AFN.

Pest control sensor startup Spotta raises $1.2m seed funding

August 3, 2020

The team at Spotta wants to enable a lighter use of pesticides by building networks of accurate real-time insect detectors.

Taranis banks $30m Series C with tech giants Hitachi, Micron among new investors

July 21, 2020

The round’s large close amid Covid-19 further cements Taranis’ reputation as a dogged drone survivor in one of the most scrutinized areas of agtech.

Chinese food delivery giant pumps $14m into robot maker PuduTech

July 7, 2020

PuduTech and Meituan Dianping will collaborate on robotics and catering digitization, and explore opportunities in “localized lifestyle services.”

Funding for agri-drone companies in a time of corona: futurism or folly?

July 6, 2020

Recent funding for remote-sensing companies like AgroScout could signal a revival for providers of agri-drone technology.

Alibaba tie-up brings Beyond Meat to Chinese shoppers

July 2, 2020

For the first time, home cooks in China will be able to purchase Beyond Meat’s plant-based products off the shelf, starting with Alibaba’s ‘new retail’ supermarket chain Freshippo.

Want to build Asia’s new agrifood ecosystem? Apply to Singapore Food Bowl now!

June 4, 2020

Singapore Food Bowl is the new online program from GROW, the Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech accelerator by AgFunder. Applications close in 4 days – so hurry!

The Greeneye team testing their AI weed detect and spray platform

Syngenta invests in $7m seed round for Israeli autonomous chemical reduction tech Greeneye

May 27, 2020

Trials already indicate how a precision method like Greeneye’s can reduce a farmer’s herbicide usage by 65‒92%, according to Greeneye.

SoftBank reports $24bn loss on startup investments, with agrifood performance unclear

May 19, 2020

SoftBank was among the world’s most active investors in the agrifoodtech space last year, according to AgFunder research.

Farm Tech investment up 370% in 6 years. How will Covid-19 impact 2020 trends?

April 30, 2020

Come rain, shine, or coronavirus, there’s just no halting the AgFunder Research mothership. AgFunder just unfurled its new 2020 Farmtech Investment Report — a data-driven snapshot of global investment in startups building technologies for the farm.

Covid-19 is accelerating inevitable food trends but which changes will stick?

April 29, 2020

The news cycle for the entire Covid-19 pandemic crisis has been awash with crises in the food industry, forcing various tech providers to step up to the challenge. But which will be left wanting when the virus eventually subsides?

Future Food Earth Day Special: Digging into dairy sustainability with Danone & Connecterra

April 22, 2020

In this Earth Day special of the Future Food podcast, I speak to Cees Jan Hollander, global director of farm relations, and Connecterra CEO Yasir Khokhar about their efforts to make the dairy sector more sustainable.

Restaurant tech offers consumers convenience, but headaches for operators

March 26, 2020

Consumers are demanding more digital offerings from restaurants, but new technologies are creating unexpected pain points for operators.

Wisdom (and wallets) of the crowd: Small Robot Company closes crowdfunding campaign at £2.1m

February 13, 2020

The VC firm 7percent Ventures is confirmed as lead investor, having plowed in £200,000. By the time of close, a total of 1,759 investors had backed the round.

Zap! This UK startup just raised €6.5m to commit electricide on weeds

January 22, 2020

RootWave owes its electrical spark of inspiration to years of earlier efforts from the CEO’s father who had been trying out ways to electrify weeds in the 1980s