Midweek Digest: Indonesia agrifoodtech startups score big-ticket fundings

In other agrifoodtech news from the past week, Indonesian startups from across the value chain closed big rounds – while there was also news from Cargill, Joyvio, and The Yield Lab LatAm.

B2B marketplace GudangAda scores $100 million-plus (Indonesia). Asia Partners and Falcon Edge led the Series D round with participation from Alpha JWC, Sequoia Capital, and Wavemaker Partners. GudangAda connects around 500,000 small retailers across Indonesia to distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers. (TechCrunch)

E-grocer HappyFresh raises $65 million for national expansion (Indonesia). The Series D round was led by Naver Financial and Bafina, with Mirae Asset, STIC Investments, and LB Investment among the other investors. (The Jakarta Post)

Aquaculture enabler Aruna nets $35 million in Indonesia’s “largest agritech Series A round.” (Indonesia). The startup aims to be an end-to-end supply chain aggregator for the fishing industry, linking fish farmers with inputs and offtakers. Prosus Ventures and East Ventures’ Growth Fund co-led the round with participation of SIG, AC Ventures, MDI Ventures, Vertex Ventures, and others. (Aruna)

Restaurant operations platform Zenput banks $27 million in Golub Capital-led round (US). The San Francisco-based startup allows restaurant and convenience store chains to implement new procedures and protocols across multiple outlets. Its customers include Chipotle, Five Guys, P.F. Chang’s, and 7-Eleven. (The Spoon)

SK Group and Joyvio join forces to launch $86.7 million agrifoodtech fund (South Korea / China). The Korean conglomerate and Chinese foodserivce giant will invest in areas such as alt-protein and vertical farming. (Korea Herald)

Comet Bio closes $22 million Series C round (Canada). Lead investor Open Prairie was joined by Louis Dreyfus Company, BDC Capital, and Sofinnova Partners. The London, Ontario-based startup ‘upcycles’ agricultural waste into health-focused ingredients and supplements. (Comet Bio)

Cargill partners with livestock tech firm Intelia to implement broiler chicken monitoring system across North America (US). Intelia’s Compass platform helps broiler producers “monitor, manage, model and enhance decision-making at the flock level,” the companies said. (Cargill)

Cannabis farm software platform Adaviv banks $2.3 million seed funding (US). The startup’s AI-powered platform allows growers to analyze plant health and growth biometrics. Delta Emerald Ventures led the round with Poseidon Asset Management and the SOJE Fund also participating. (HortiDaily)

Venture builder YieldLab LatAm invests in Auravant, partners Agtech Garage Brazil to establish $5 million VC fund (Argentina / Brazil). Auravant is a digital agronomy and farm management platform. (The Yield Lab)

Redefine Meat launches range plant-based meat analogs for “high quality” restaurants and hotels (Israel). The products include a premium 170-gram hamburger, ground ‘beef,’ sausage, a  ‘lamb’ kebab, and a Middle Eastern-style ‘meat’-stuffed cigar pastry (bourekas). (Redefine Meat)

Produce platform Vegrow raises $13 million Series A funding (India). Launched last year, the startup links fruit and vegetable farmers with B2B customers. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Elevation Capital co-led the round with existing investors Ankur Capital, Better Capital, Matrix Partners India, and Titan Capital also taking part. (Business Standard)

Kamereo raises $4.6 million from Thai food giant CP Group, Genesia Ventures, and Quest Ventures  (Vietnam). The Ho Chi Minh City-based startup claims it’s Vietnam’s first B2B platform linking farmers and buyers of produce. (DealStreetAsia)

ANB Sensors nets $1.38 million funding (UK). Investment came from the Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF2), Applied Technology Ventures, Namier Capital Group, Hatch, and various angel investors. The Cambridge-based startup produces calibration-free pH sensors for aquaculture. (The Fish Site)