Japan rising through the ranks as an agrifoodtech hub after 58% increase in YoY funding

Japan’s startup ecosystem has thrived over the last couple of years, at the same time when many countries have grappled with the aftermath of a serious credit crunch.

With $280 million raised across 93 deals, in 2024 to date the country ranked third in total agrifoodtech funding in Asia Pacific, up three positions from 2023. The jump was due to a 58% increase in funding over the same period last year, continuing a positive trend that has seen investment in agrifoodtech in the country grow steadily in the last two years. This is a significant recovery from the global 2022 contraction that followed the post-covid investment boom, impacting Japan and other major Asian economies.

Moreover, we need to consider that out of 93 recorded deals recorded in 2024,  53 had undisclosed amounts.  Only 11 of these undisclosed rounds were at seed stage.  This makes it likely that the actual total funding is much larger than reported.

Japan is now APAC’s third biggest agrifoodtech investment market, characterized by significant investments in Bioenergy and Biomaterials, Cloud Retail Infrastructure, and Farm Management Software.

Bioenergy & Biomaterials raised $65.2 million across five deals in 2024 so far.  However, the entire amount reported was just biomaterial manufacturer Spiber’s share, as all other deals were undisclosed,  including one Series A, one Series B, and one series C round.

Even so, Bioenergy & Biomaterials ranked first for total agrifoodtech investment funding in Japan in 2024, up 33% over the same period last year, when it ranked fourth.

The second-highest-funded category is Cloud Retail Infrastructure, with $52.6 million over just two deals, of which restaurant app Dinii represented most of the amount.

Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT raised $26.6 million over 17 deals. The category included five seed stage deals, four series A, four series B and two series C deals.

Innovative Food, Japan’s top-funded category in 2023, dropped in sixth position in 2024 so far, with $23.3 million raised over 12 deals, just one deal less but with a 52% drop in total funding over the same period last year.

In terms of investment stage, out of 93 deals in 2024, Series A were the most represented with 25 deals, while Seed, B and C all reached a deal count of 17. This suggests faith in the early stage and growing startups, with the  average company age involved in the rounds being around six years.

Top AgriFoodTech deals in Japan 2024

• Spiber raised $65 million in April via a late stage round. The biomaterials startup utilizes cutting-edge science to develop novel materials. Produced through microbial fermentation and utilizing agricultural feedstocks as primary raw materials, its Brewed Protein™ polymers are well-positioned to significantly contribute to animal- and plastic-free initiatives in various fields such as the apparel and automotive industries. Spiber own production plants in Thailand and the USA and in July it announced strategic partnerships with Italian luxury fabric manufacturers Marzotto, Filatura Papi Fabio, and RD Gruppo Florence.
  
• Dinii raised $52 million in September via a series B round. The startup offers an all-in-one restaurant cloud providing payment, ordering, analytics and payroll services over an integrated platform serving the food delivery industry.
• Online Restaurants & Marketplaces mobile platform Peco Free, offering school meal pre-order services, raised $24 million with a series A deal signed in March.
• TechMagic, an In-store Retail & Restaurant Tech introducing AI and robotics into daily operations at restaurant kitchens to cut down on labor costs,  raised $17 million via a C round in March.
• KOMPEITO raised $15 million with a series D deal signed in August. The startup delivers fresh, nutritious food services aimed at improving office worker health and productivity.