The Week in AgriFoodTech: Aqua Capital closes $450m fund, Onego Bio ‘poaches’ $40m, BurnBot raises $20m
Also: farm labor management platform Seso raises $26 million, L’Oreal backs sustainable pigment producer.
Also: farm labor management platform Seso raises $26 million, L’Oreal backs sustainable pigment producer.
“A key part of the proposition to fine dining chefs was that they can serve something that no one else has and no one else can have, because we invented it,” says Vow’s CEO.
Funding into Australian agrifoodtech startups fell 33% last year according to AgFunder data… But it could have been worse: global agrifoodtech funding fell 49% over the same period.
Cauldron believes a continuous fermentation process will be key to unlocking the commercial viability of microbial fermentation for a host of ingredients that have historically been sourced from animals or petrochemicals.
Despite weak evidence for its efficacy, routine ‘preventative’ livestock antibiotic dosing is still common in many countries, says animal health co Genics.
GrainInnovate invests in unique startups developing agtech tools that address challenges for grain growers.
Funding in Novel Farming Systems—an AgFunder category spanning indoor farming, insect ag, aquaculture, and algae production—fell off a cliff last year.
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.
Plus: ProfilePrint raises Series B funding & Vow gets a regulatory nod for cultivated quail.
The UMAMI/Cell AgriTech facility in Malaysia—the first phase of which is set to come online in Q1, 2025—has a projected annual output of 3,000+ tons (6 million pounds) of cultivated meat/seafood.
As COP28 kicks off, other agrifoodtech news includes fundraises for aquatech startups and new stats about agriculture emissions.
We’ve known for years that electrical fields can boost crop yields, says Rainstick cofounder Mic Black. “But try putting lightning in a box.”
Plus, sugar refiner Nordzucker will invest more than $100 million into plant-based proteins.
Precision fermentation might make commercial sense for high-value ingredients such as enzymes or lactoferrin. But what about low-value, high-volume ingredients such as casein proteins?
Red seaweed (Asparagopsis) is widely recognized as one of the most effective tools for reducing methane production in ruminant animals. The challenge is growing it at scale.
The Australian startup claims its tech can transform the unit economics of growing red seaweed to produce feed additives for livestock methane reduction.
Overstory banks new funding to monitor vegetation with satellites, FarmInsect raises capital to turn insects into livestock feed.
Asia-Pacific has long been a hotbed for agrifoodtech innovation; the recent decline in VC funding isn’t likely to change that.
General Mills and Walmart partner for regenerative ag, grain-trading platform Bushel gets a grant, Italy back-pedals on cultivated meat ban.
Barely a month goes by without a new startup producing ‘animal-free’ dairy proteins via genetically engineered microbes or plants. But what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this nascent space?
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International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator