Ÿnsect started production at a large-scale mealworm facility in Amiens last year, but needs more funding to get to a scale whereby it can ensure profitability.
“We’re not trying to replace agriculture or even compete with it; we’re closing the gap between demand and supply,” says Food Brewer CEO Christian Schaub.
“It’s as close to a limitless form of manufacturing as you can get, so to me, that is worth pursuing as aggressively as possible,” says Circe Bioscience cofounder Dr. Shannon Nangle.
“A lot of foodtech founders in this dry capital environment are beating their heads against the wall with the conviction that the wall will break before their heads do,” observes Paul Shapiro at The Better Meat Co. “That said, deals are still getting done.”
It is “clearly communicated to all competitors in our documentations that awards are not guaranteed,” says XPRIZE. “This is not the first time a winner has not been identified by our judges.”
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.
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.
In its next growth phase, Agrovision will invest in establishing new growing regions in Egypt and Indonesia and expanding its operations in markets such as China, says CEO Steve Magami.
Proposed legislation targeting Chinese drone maker DJI Technologies could have a devastating effect on US agriculture, claim firms supplying the drones to farmers.
“It was probably around 2013 or 2014 when I was at Monsanto that it became really clear that CRISPR was going to matter” for plant breeding, says Pairwise cofounder and CEO Dr. Tom Adams.
Ag insights platform Gro Intelligence is calling it quits after failing to secure enough capital to stay afloat following a turbulent few months, AgFunderNews understands.
There is “definitely a holy shit moment when you speak with breeders about what we’re doing,” says Friedberg.
What will it take to make the economics of precision fermentation stack up for a wider range of bioproducts such that they can compete with low-margin, high volume products derived from petrochemicals or industrialized animal agriculture?
Industrial-scale insect farming is not for the faint-hearted. So what business models make sense, and who is going to fund the next wave of facilities?
While we hope that investors in our space have come to terms with some of the longer timeframes needed to establish and scale companies, you can’t count on that anymore, writes AFN editor.
AgFunderNews head Louisa Burwood-Taylor on the origins of the now much-used term and how the food and ag industries evolved with it.
The FoodShot Global team looks back on half a decade of agrifoodtech investment and hints at what’s in store for the next five years.
Food tech fantasy or the future of meat? We catch up with Dr. Mark Post to discuss progress in cultivated meat,10 years after he unveiled a rather pricey burger at a press conference in London…
We’re building our presence in Latin America, starting with our inaugural investment report launch in Brazil in two weeks’ time, and we’re looking for reporters and data analysts to help.
The upcoming Salinas Biological Summit aims to show growers, investors and others the benefits of using biologicals for specialty crops.
