Investor backing for technologies focusing on or close to the farm soared to $7.9 billion in 2020, or 41%, representing a bigger year-over-year jump than both agrifoodtech and global VC investing.
The European Food Safety Authority conducted an assessment to determine whether there are any risks associated with letting people eat mealworms.
The New Mexico startup embeds quantum dot technology into glass and pliable films, offering a lighting source that doesn’t need a mains electricity supply.
The New York startup claims to have doubled its revenue over the past year, selling its leafy greens in 40 US states and across 2,000 retail stores including Whole Foods, Albertsons, Meijer, Target, and Sprouts.
The New York startup ‘upcycles’ organic compounds from unrecoverable vegetable food waste, generating water-soluble, organic hydroponic nutrients for soilless farms.
Cox Enterprises now holds a majority stake in BrightFarms, which will use the new funding to construct three new greenhouses in North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Texas.
Kentucky’s AppHarvest will join the NASDAQ through a merger with special-purpose vehicle Novus Capital, while its new 60-acre facility prepares for launch.
The US-based project’s co-founders are creating a networking space for indoor growers, while also aggregating data to establish much needed benchmarks.
AppHarvest is planning to build the world’s largest greenhouse facility in Kentucky to address Covid-19 produce supply chain woes.
The Canadian startup claims to have the only smart LED lighting technology that reproduces the full spectrum of the sun’s natural light.
The funding will be used to construct what it describes as the largest mealworm facility for animal feed in North America.
The startup is now taking pre-orders for a bookshelf-sized at-home growing system producing leafy greens, herbs, and more.
Duckweed is rich in protein and grows incredibly fast. It can double in biomass every two days.
Novel farming systems saw a 37% increase in funding over 2018 as maturing companies raised larger rounds for the diverse segment.
there are a few ways to interpret this $19.8 billion figure. Though it signals a 4.8% drop in funding and 15% decline in deal activity year-over-year, it also represents a staggering 250% growth in five years, and proves that the huge scale of investments in 2018 was no freak outlier.
The container farming startup is planning to dig deeper into plant science to optimize its connected platform and provide growers with better recipes.
Cricket One is another insect-based protein startup that’s taking off in Asia, but why? AFN speaks with its founder, Nam Dang, to find out.
From the bustling streets of Bangkok and into labs in the APAC region, here’s how start-ups here are harnessing the power of the insect kingdom.
“I had a front-row seat to the buzz – and the reality. It’s easy to criticize this industry, and the entrepreneurs who drive it forward, for being full of hype. In many cases, that is true; but it’s part of a more complicated reality,” writes Sean McDonald.
This is the largest early-stage agtech funding deal on record in Europe.
Sponsored
AFN Africa: Investing in knowledge & information to accelerate innovation in African agriculture