Alterpacks raised $1 million while greenhouse grower AppHarvest entered a sale-leaseback deal for one if its Kentucky facilities.
Food delivery, cultivated meat, and bio-energy startups across Asia, North America and Oceana landed agrifoodtech’s top five deals of 2022.
No farmers. No food. No future. That is the saying that reminds us to value not just where our food comes from, but the farmers that grow it for us, writes Henry Gordon-Smith as an introduction to deep research his team has done into labor shortage in the Middle East.
NotCo has big plans for its AI tool, while nutrition platform HealthKart will expand its business and Winter Farm will grow a new crop.
Eratani, an Indonesian startup providing digital farm management solutions has secured $3.8m in a seed round led by Singapore’s TNB Aura
From widespread soil degradation in Africa to Iowa’s quickly disappearing “black gold,” the numbers show how urgent the world’s soil situation is.
Indian farmtech startups raised $1.5bn in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, which was around 30% of total funding but 60% of deal count.
Meanwhile, collaborative investment platform FoodShot Global announced the winners of this year’s esteemed GroundBreaker Prize.
Investment in farm technologies was particularly buoyant, increasing 185% year-on-year and accounting for 60% of the total number of deals closed.
The category’s strong fundraising performance underscores its potential to positively impact Asia-Pacific, especially when it comes to smallholder farmers.
IPES-Food also suggests building “sustainable food systems” that reduce waste, improve nutrition and bolster the supply chain were also left out.
Late-stage deals in the Asia-Pacific region grew by more than 30% in 2021; in H1 2022, the median size of deals dropped for the first time in three years.
War and supply chain issues make indoor wheat an attractive concept. Can the vertical farming industry manage to grow that crop at scale?
Other notable raises this week came from shelf-stable meal producer Proper Good and Mexico produce rescue company Perfekto.
Agroforestry grows increasingly critical for fighting climate change, restoring biodiversity and boosting incomes and economies for rural communities.
Innovative Food startups garnered $356 million in 2021; much of that went to Singapore alt-protein companies as well as those in China and India.
All three agreed that mergers & acquisitions were more likely to deliver the next big exit over public market listing via IPOs and SPACs, and that the next big exit will be disappointingly low value.
Ostara closes $70 million round and more than one vertical farming startup ceases operations.
India is by far the region’s most advanced farmtech ecosystem, while a Chinese agricultural drone service raised the biggest farmtech round in 2021.
Local Bounti raises new funds for indoor farming while Bill Gates and others start a new venture to decarbonize rice production in Asia.
