Data Snapshot: What Europe’s top 15 agrifoodtech deals in 2021 told us about investment trends
Most of the top deals involved eGrocers and Restaurant Marketplaces, highlighting the continent’s thirst for ‘quick commerce.’
Most of the top deals involved eGrocers and Restaurant Marketplaces, highlighting the continent’s thirst for ‘quick commerce.’
“Instant delivery” e-grocer Zepto got closer to unicorn status with its Series D round, while VitroLabs raised funds for its cell-cultured animal leather.
UAE restaurant platform Foodics is expanding overseas, while Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Farms will take its indoor farming tech global.
More funding went to vertical farming in the US while delivery heavyweight Just Eat Takeaway is having second thoughts about buying Grubhub.
Choco became a unicorn with its latest fundraise, Leaft is making protein from leaves, and Alt Farm is 3D-printing waygu beef alternatives.
Consumer-facing downstrream technologies bagged $32 billion in VC investment in 2021; the bulk of it was thanks to a few big eGrocery deals.
The crisis in Ukraine has damaged an already weakened post-Covid global food system. It has also highlighted the vulnerabilities of that system’s interconnectedness, write FAIRR’s Helena Wright and Alexander Burr.
Elsewhere, the Gates Foundation and Qatar’s development fund pledged $200 million to help African smallholders with climate change adaptation.
Beewise aims to save the world’s bee population with robotic beehives; while Arzeda creates enzymes for use in food, personal, and homecare products.
China’s Furong Xingsheng and rapid delivery services in the US, Germany, and Turkey made eGrocery the most funded agrifoodtech category of 2021.
Over in the US, meanwhile, The Every Company launched the world’s first chickenless egg white.
Venture investors pumped $51.7 billion into agrifoodtech startups in 2021, according to AgFunder’s latest global investment report.
Elsewhere, Plantish scored $12 million for plant-based fish – and Mzansi Meat unveiled ‘Africa’s first’ cultivated beef burger.
Clean Crop Technologies closed a round for crop protection tools and Protenga nabbed capital for its insect farming operations.
Starship’s delivery bots move into new markets, Source.ag aims to make greenhouses smarter, and cultivated meat arrives at Singapore’s hawker stalls.
Vertical farming and alt-protein saw sizable financings this week, with companies like GrowUp Farms, Novameat, and Wildtype closing significant rounds.
The year-long program is designed to prime Africa’s agrifoodtech VC pipeline by supporting early-stage startups with investment and business readiness.
Equip scored $58 million while Tindle parent company Next Gen Foods raised the largest Series A round to date for plant-based protein.
Protix bagged big bucks this week for its insect protein; while Cooks Venture secured capital to breed slower-growing chickens.
Meanwhile, it has been forecast that the plant-based protein sector needs to invest $27 billion in production capacity by 2030 to meet demand.