Eventually, says Andrew Ive at Big Idea Ventures, “It all shakes out and the less smart money decides to go chase the next opportunity. So we had foodtech, we had crypto, and now we have AI…”
Expect fewer agtech-specific funds, more corporate involvement and lots of generative AI.
Despite all the bad press around alt proteins, foodtech is an emerging asset class with big potential, says PeakBridge. ‘We can bring tech to bear and make returns.’
Agrifoodtech investor PeakBridge has closed its Growth Fund II at $187m in partnership with Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity, bringing its total AUM (assets under management) to more than $250m.
“One thing we’ve recognized is that sometimes breakthrough technologies that map really well to a very positive and impactful food and agri thesis might originate outside of the sector,” says Michael Lavin.
“I think the pain will continue for a while as deals that aren’t performing are price corrected,” says managing partner Lucas Mann. “But I’m still super bullish about this space.”
Areas of interest include sustainable packaging, fermentation, agriculture biologicals, crop disease resistance, soil health and regenerative agriculture.
Success in biologicals is about so much more than the actual products, said a panel of investors at the recent Salinas Biologicals Summit
When the team at NCH Agriculture, a $1bn agriculture investment business, founded Agroprosperis in 2006, they didn’t have a plan and understood little about farming. Today Agroprosperis is the largest producer of crops in the Black Sea region, and is returning 15% a year to its investors.
Panelists at World Agri-Tech and in AgFunder’s new report say agrifoodtech investment will get worse, but those solving ‘the right’ issues have opportunity.
BII plans to designate $250 million to African and Indian startups by 2026, including those developing solutions for smallholder farmers.
The just concluded African Agri Investment Indaba hosted ag stakeholders, chiming in on the sector’s state of financing, inclusion and productivity.
Bruce Gurfein, a UAE entrepreneur has completed a 9,000 km road trip across six countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Palestine, and Israel.
Ghana’s Wangara Green Ventures is an impact and climate focused fund supporting small and growing climate-friendly businesses.
Soil microbial products for farmers have typically been unreliable. Kula Bio has changed that, writes AgFunder’s Rob Leclerc.
The US startup brings work-from-home to the gig economy, giving drive-thru restaurants a virtual, on-demand workforce, writes AgFunder partner Manuel Gonzalez.
“When we invested, what I loved about Bear Flag was that they were solving the right problem,” writes AgFunder partner Rob Leclerc about his firm’s exit from the ag automation startup.
Purissima intends to fundamentally change the production and consumption of bioactive ingredients that can help us to live longer, healthier lives.
Atomo! co-founder Jarret Stopforth happens to have a DIY food science lab in his garage. While some people build cars on their weekends, Jarret builds food.
Mail order, frozen, plant-based chicken nuggets… Before we met Ben Pasternak, the founder of SIMULATE (formerly NUGGS), this would have sounded like the worst idea ever.
