This week, crop intelligence platform Taranis secured more capital for its aerial imagery and AI tech and BioBetter landed funds to turn tobacco into growth factors for cultivated meat. Online grocer Motatos bagged new capital, Uber and Nuro struck a major deal, and one company legally served foie gras in California.
Agtech Funding
🇮🇱 Crop intelligence platform Taranis raises $40 million to simplify crop management. Inven Capital led the Series D round with participation from Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Farglory Group and others. (CTech)
🇬🇧 Vertical farming startup OneFarm raises £7.5 million ($8.6 million) to build a 70,000 sq. ft. farm. The company raised funds through crowdfunding platform Abundance and said it expects to make its first harvest in Q4 of this year. (Silicon Canals)
🇮🇱 BioBetter lands $10 million from Jerusalem Venture Partners and others. The startup is repurposing tobacco plants to create the growth factors cultivated meat. (Labiotech.eu)
🇩🇪 Klim bags $6.6 million seed round to help farmers transition to regenerative ag. The digital platform helps farmers set goals and determine techniques and methods most appropriate for their operation. (TechCrunch)
🇩🇪 B2B carbon credits marketplace CEEZER scores €4.2 million ($4.2 million). Carbon Removal Partners led the round with participation from Norrsken VC and existing investor Picus Capital. (EU Startups)
Foodtech funding
🇸🇪 Surplus and discount food grocer Motatos scoops up €38 million ($38 million) Series D funding. The startup differentiates itself by selling long-life pantry goods, household items and pet food. (Sifted)
🇮🇳 Daalchini secures $4 million to expand its smart vending machine network. Unicorn India Ventures, Artha Venture Fund, and others contributed to the Series A round. (Inc42)
🇺🇸 Fresh Bellies lands $7 million for sorghum-based snacks. Ancient grain sorghum requires little water to thrive and is low in fat and rich in protein and fiber. (Vegconomist)
🇫🇷 E-Grocery startup Waysia raises €10 million ($10 million) Series A financing. Banyan Pacific Capital led the round for Paris-based Waysia’s online grocery service focused on Asian foods. (Private Equity Wire)
🇺🇸 Bond Pet Foods brews up $17.5 million Series A to develop meat proteins via fermentation. Funding will fuel expansion of Bond’s portfolio of pet foods and production at a new 15,000 sq. ft. facility. (Vegconomist)
🇮🇳 Suite42 bags $4.3 million to help food brands with the manufacturing process. Omnivore and Orios Venture Partners co-led the seed round, which will go towards product development and hiring for the startup. (Tech in Asia)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 Misfits Market to acquire chief rival Imperfect Foods. The deal gives Misfits access to Imperfect’s large delivery fleet and is expected to help the food rescue/online grocery companies increase scale. (AFN)
🇺🇸 Virridy strikes partnerships to ensure access to reliable drinking water for climate-impacted populations. The remote monitoring startup has partnered with the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) and the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of Colorado Boulder. (AFN)
🇳🇿 🇳🇱 Dairy giant Fonterra and Royal DSM launch precision fermentation startup. The two will work towards producing more sustainable dairy products at scale. (Green Queen)
🇺🇸 Instacart buys pricing and promotions platform Eversight. CPGs can use the latter’s technology to test customized pricing and promotions with individual customers at scale. (Grocery Dive)
🇺🇸 Instacart also purchased online grocery startup Rosie. The Rosie app connects consumers to local, independent grocers and provides a white-label service for retailers. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Walmart acquires minority stake in rancher-owned beef company. Sustainable Beef will now ship the bulk of what it produces to Walmart stores. (RetailWire)
Funds, grants & accelerators
Aurea Imaging snags funding from Pymwymic’s Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund II. The undisclosed capital will enable Aurea to scale its AI-powered crop intelligence platform for orchards. (EU Startups)
Other news
🇺🇸 Chobani withdraws IPO plans “given the current market conditions.” Greek yogurt maker Chobani filed to go public in 2021. (Food Navigator)
🇮🇳 Cropin launches cloud-based platform to digitize millions of acres of farmland. The company counts the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CDC Group among its investors. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Better Meat Co. debuts California’s only legal foie gras at LinkedIn headquarters. The startup uses microbial fermentation to make a vegan version of the controversial item, which is illegal in California. (VegNews)
🇳🇱 Haarlem intends to ban most meat ads from public spaces, citing its negative climate impact. The ban is thought to be the first such one by a city and will be enforced from 2024 on. (BBC)
🌍 The FAIRR investor network and the Good Food Institute (GFI) launch new reporting frameworks for alternative proteins. Companies can use these to standardize ESG reporting for consumers and investors. (AFN)
🇸🇬 Foodpanda lays off staff in Singapore. The Delivery Hero-owned company said there was a ‘critical need’ to reduce headcount to move towards profitability and become EBITDA-positive. (CNA)
🇺🇸 Uber and Nuro ink 10-year robot delivery partnership. The collaboration will offer autonomously delivered food orders in Houston, Texas and Mountain View, California to start. (Grocery Dive)
