Consumer-facing downstrream technologies bagged $32 billion in VC investment in 2021; the bulk of it was thanks to a few big eGrocery deals.
Venture funding across all sectors reached a record $643 billion in FY 2021 – and agrifoodtech’s $51.7 billion made up a significant chunk.
China’s Furong Xingsheng and rapid delivery services in the US, Germany, and Turkey made eGrocery the most funded agrifoodtech category of 2021.
Late-stage investment into European agrifoodtech ventures totalled $476 million in 2020 – less than a third of what they raised the previous year.
Data from AgFunder shows a steady increase in the number of female founders in both upstream and downstream agrifoodtech startups.
Funding for food waste solutions up and down the supply chain reflects the growing importance of the category for businesses, consumers, and investors alike.
Premium Branded Foods remained one of India’s most active categories, despite a pandemic-related slowdown.
Startups developing biological crop inputs secured a total of $892 million in funding last year.
Cultivated meat and other “future foods” startups raised a total of $127 million in China during 2020.
The country looks set to creep up the agtech investment rankings.
Midstream Tech deals increased in response to the problems and inefficiencies in India’s agrifood supply chains highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Online farmer marketplaces like DeHaat, Bijak, and Animall were among India’s big winners when it came to venture investment last year.
A sneak-peek at our India Agrifood Startup Investment Report, which comes out tomorrow.
Novel Farming Systems ventures – which include tech-enabled vertical farms and greenhouses – may be losing their luster for investors.
Global agrifoodtech funding is still dominated by the US – but a few massive deals in China, India, and other countries are stealing a greater share.
The category continues to evolve as digital tools blur the lines between mealkits, virtual restaurants, and dark grocery stores.
Novel Farming Systems ventures raised a total of $911 million in funding during the first six months of the year, according to AgFunder data.
Supply chain, warehousing, and logistics solutions led the investment rounds for Midstream Technologies in the first half of the year.
The top three destination countries for agrifoodtech investment remained the same in H1 2021 – but there were a few surprises further down the list.
Foods from the lab, such as cultivated meat, drove a greater amount of early-stage investment in upstream technologies and business models in the first half of 2021.
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