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Planet A Foods
The team at Planet A Foods. Image credit: Planet A Foods

The Week in AgriFoodTech: New capital for eco-chocolate, Leon co-founder launches fund, Delivery Hero & Deliveroo break up

February 1, 2024

Two fundraises this week highlight the growing interest in more eco-friendly, ethically produced chocolate, with US-based Voyage Foods and Germany’s Planet A both announcing new rounds. Elsewhere, Henry Dimbleby, best known as the co-founder of healthy fast food chain Leon, is launching a new venture fund, and Delivery Hero offloaded its stake in fellow food delivery startup Deliveroo.

Read on for more farm robot funding, people moves, high-tech bacon developments and more.

The team at Planet A Foods. Image credit: Planet A Foods

Foodtech funding

🇺🇸 Voyage Foods secures $22m in funding, as LCA claims it makes the ‘most sustainable chocolates ever’ Green Queen

🇩🇪 Step aside, Wonka: Planet A raises $15.4m for climate-friendly cocoa alternative Sifted

🇺🇸 Izote Biosciences takes in $2.6M to develop a fermentation process sans oxygen TechCrunch

🇫🇮 Finnish food education startup Vegemi raises €0.5 million in funding and received invitation to SDG Lab in Davos Arctic Startup

🇵🇱 Warsaw-based ZeroQs raises €457k to champion smart shopping carts as alternative to self-service checkouts EU Startups

The multi-functional Thorvald machine from Saga Robotics. Image credit: Saga Robotics

Agtech funding

🇺🇸 Seed gene-editing startup Inari valued at $1.65bn following $103m fundraise AgFunderNews

🇳🇱 Dutch-based Paques Biomaterials raises €14M to develop biodegradable alternative to plastic Silicon Canals

🇳🇴 Saga Robotics raises $11.5m to expand AI-powered farming robots iGrow News

🇦🇺 Tesla chair Robyn Denholm backs substitute leather startup in $1.1 million angel round Startup Daily

🇪🇸 Malaga-based Agrow Analytics gets €650k to lead a new wave of smart irrigation for productive crops EU Startups

GROW Impact accelerator Singapore 2023
The 2023 GROW Impact Acceleraator demo day in Singapore, 2023. Image credit: AgFunder

M&A, IPOs & partnerships

🇺🇸 Invaio Sciences and Louis Dreyfus Company collaborate on sustainable citrus groves for the future PR Newswire

Funds, grants & accelerators

🇬🇧 Henry Dimbleby sets up fund to transform global food system The Times

🇸🇬 Applications are now open for agrifoodtech founders to join the fifth cohort of the AgFunder GROW Impact Accelerator AgFunderNews

Hatice Evren new US Group CEO, Getir and FreshDirect

People moves

🇺🇸 Getir names new CEO at FreshDirect Grocery Dive

🇺🇸 Pivot Bio Appoints Jim Collins to its board of directors Pivot Bio

🇺🇸 UPSIDE Foods appoints veteran cleantech finance leader as chief financial officer and promotes SVP to chief supply chain & manufacturing officer PR Newswire

🇬🇧 Hoxton Farms appoints former Impossible Foods CSO following recent hires from GOOD Meat and Aleph Farms Vegconomist

🇺🇸 Growers Edge makes leadership changes Croplife

🇺🇸 Oatly president, North America Mike Messersmith leaving LinkedIn

Image credit: Just Mayo

Other news

🇩🇪 Delivery Hero exits stake in Deliveroo in deal valued at up to £82M Tech.eu

🇺🇸 Small Robot Company proceeds into liquidation LinkedIn

🇺🇸 Eat Just’s vegan Just Mayo is coming back. Here’s why Fast Company

🇺🇸 Proposed legislation would ban cultivated meat from school lunches Food Business News

🇺🇸 Superbrewed Food awarded patent for “breakthrough” tasty postbiotic protein Nutrition Insight

🇺🇸 Biden-Harris administration announces investments to strengthen U.S. specialty crops sector USDA

🇪🇺 ‘A real game-changer for Europe’: Plans to loosen rules on genomic techniques pass first hurdle Agtech Navigator

🇺🇸 21st.BIO opens access to its large-scale production platform for animal-free dairy proteins Vegconomist

🇫🇷 Judge allows lawsuit over Evian’s ‘carbon neutral’ claim to proceed: ‘Evidence shows consumers are confused by it’ AgFunderNews

🇺🇸 Tyson opens $355M high-tech bacon plant in Kentucky Food Dive

🇬🇧 🇪🇺 Fermentation-based stevia with ‘cleaner, sugar-like profile’ wins EFSA safety nod Food Navigator

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