Scentian Bio raises $2.1m seed round to build biosensors inspired by bugs
Scentian Bio—a New Zealand-based startup making biosensors inspired by bugs—has raised a $2.1m seed round.
Scentian Bio—a New Zealand-based startup making biosensors inspired by bugs—has raised a $2.1m seed round.
Oritain —a New Zealand-based firm using forensics to verify the origin of everything from cocoa to coffee—has raised a $57m series C round.
Innovators in New Zealand look to improve food production while weaving indigenous perspectives and sustainability throughout every step.
CH4 is starting with an initial focus on Australia, New Zealand, and North America beef cattle, including a partnership with ingredients processor CirPro.
Trimble Ventures will invest in agricultural digitalization, among other areas; while a New Zealand meat industry group is raising a few carbon questions.
New Zealand’s Scentian Bio is using insect olfactory receptors to detect volatile compounds – and it believes its tech could prove invaluable for the food industry.
One of Covid-19’s biggest agrifoodtech casualties so far is the New Zealand farmer co-op’s scuppered $70 million investment in Afimilk.
The New Zealand-based startup is “ready to focus on commercialization and building a global footprint” for its UV light recipe tech with Steve Sibulkin on board.
Trade Me – New Zealand’s answer to eBay – is listing livestock and feed on its auction platform after being registered as an ‘essential service’ provider.
The New Zealand dairy farmers’ cooperative made its bid for Israel’s Afimilk before the worst of the pandemic hit, but says it’ll continue to seek investment opportunities.
The wide distribution and adoption of cultured meat won’t affect all farming economies equally, but grass-based farming economies like New Zealand and Wales could be particularly impacted.
New Zealand in-field IoT provider CropLogic is set to go public on the Australian Stock Exchange while Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co has acquired Canadian dairy-free, food company Daiya.
The founder of Rockit Global, the New Zealand company that holds the global rights to the mini Rockit apple variety, has sold over 50% of the company to two private equity firms Pioneer Capital and Oriens Capital for around N$25 million ($17 million).
Monsanto’s lawsuit, cannabis legalization in New Zealand, and continued drama around GMO-labeling are some of the stories covered in this week’s Industry-in-Brief.
The New Zealand fund manager expects to hold a second close during the first half of 2016 and a final close by the end of the year.
This week’s news-in-brief covers the launch of a new crop-spraying drone, a $20m commitment by New Zealand to combat agricultural emissions, and agribusiness PE fund Arlon leads sugar business M&A.
The Israeli startup expects products containing its animal-free whey protein to launch in the US within the year.
It also teased “a major CPG partner launch” with its whey from fermentation and said it would unveil “new molecules which will bring the impact of precision fermentation to more products and markets.”
Biowaste to biofuel. Ag Robotics. Cow collars. Here’s a sneak peek at the top 20 agtech rounds, based on preliminary data from AgFunder.
AgFunderNews catches up with two players in this nascent field: Dr. James Petrie at Australian startup Nourish Ingredients, and Dr. Yulin Lu at US startup Yali Bio.
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International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator