Unsurprisingly, the challenging funding environment was top of mind for many founders, but it’s not the only thing disturbing their sleep…
A defense spending bill just passed in the US Congress requires an unspecified national agency to conduct a risk assessment on DJI spray drones, prompting alarm bells among distributors.
Unsurprisingly, AI was top of mind for many founders, but it’s not the only thing on their list…
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The newly announced AgTech Advisory Collective aims to provide a broad range of expertise and services to the agtech industry.
A resounding win for Donald Trump in the US election is prompting enthusiasm in some quarters of the food industry and intense anxiety in others.
The industry is moving in the right direction, said various growers, startups, agribusinesses and investors polled by AgFunderNews.
QarboTech’s tiny carbon dots integrate with chloroplasts, the tiny factories in plants that turn sunlight into energy, optimizing light absorption and electron transfer.
“Now we’ve got a much more structured approach and good clarity on our verticals (gene editing, ag biologicals, tech platforms, decision science), we feel comfortable making investments early,” says Dr. Tom Greene.
VCs need to think longer term and more realistically for future agtech investments, said panelists at World Agri-Tech London.
“We are getting closer to $100 million in revenues,” says BeeHero cofounder Omer Davidi. “We expect to be there very soon. This year, we’ll probably exceed $70 million.”
Under a deal with leading ag equipment dealer Rocky Mountain Equipment, Brilliant Harvest will provide the firm’s 43 stores with their own dealer branded mobile app.
“What’s really exciting about gene editing is precision and speed,” says Corteva chief technology and digital officer Dr. Sam Eathington.
While burping ruminants are one of the leading sources of methane emissions, surprisingly small sums—just $233m according to AgFunder data—have been pumped into startups tackling the problem over the past decade.
After a fun—but not very lucrative—few years working on driverless cars in India, Kumar Ranjan turned his attention to a very different industry: farming.
Ag spray drone distributors have formed a coalition to urge lawmakers to reconsider plans to restrict the US activities of Chinese drone maker DJI Technologies and say alternative approaches could address potential security concerns.
The House version of the 2025 defense spending bill includes provisions targeting Chinese firm DJI, the market leader in ag spray drones in the US. The Senate version does not. So what happens next?
Google’s parent company Alphabet is winding down operations at AI-fueled ag intelligence startup Mineral, just over a year after it emerged from stealth, although it is licensing some of its tech to partners such as Driscoll’s.
From seaweed to selective breeding, multiple approaches are being tested to cut methane emissions from belching ruminants. But could editing the genes of the microbes responsible for the problem change the game?
“If we had American-made drones using American-made parts with American-made software that were as affordable and as good as DJI, we wouldn’t have an issue,” says Russell Hedrick. “But right now, they don’t exist.”
