This week, Colombian ghost kitchen startup Foodology scooped up $50 million to expand in Latin America and Estonia-based FlyFeed landed funds for its insect farming ambitions. Additionally, rapid grocery delivery continues its path to consolidation as Getir starts up talks to buy Gorillas.
Foodtech funding
🇨🇴 Foodology bags $50 million to expand its cloud kitchen startup across LatAm. Reggaeton superstar Maluma and Abu Dhabi’s Chimera Investments, among others, participated the Series A extension round. (Bloomberg)
🇸🇬 Food delivery software startup klikit raises $2 million to expand across Southeast Asia. Global Founders Capital and Wavemaker Partners led the pre-seed round. (e27)
🇺🇸 Pulp Culture raises $7 million for alcohol-based “functional beverages. The Kale Fund led the Series A round. (Food Business News)
🇦🇺 Foodini raises $700,000 AUD ($439,000) to match diners’ dietary needs with appropriate restaurants. The app is now launching in Melbourne and will expand to the rest of Australia by the end of the year. (Startup Daily)
🇮🇳 Co-living & smart food court firm Isthara raises $10 million to expand further into retail foodtech. Dubai-based Eagle Investments led the round. (EnTracker)
Agtech funding
🇺🇸 Soli Organic raises $125 million to expand its indoor soil-based vertical farming operation across the US. Climate-focused global investment group CDPQ led the Series D round. (AFN)
🇪🇪 FlyFeed catches €3 million ($2.9 million) from angel investors. The Tallinn-based startup will construct its first industrial-sized insect farm in Vietnam in 2023. (Silicon Canals)
🇦🇺 Livestock management platform AgriWebb secures $6.7 million Series B. New investors Germin8 Ventures and iSelect Fund participated in the round, which will go towards new partnerships, features and capabilities. (Financial Review)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will double the capacity of its CEA Center of Excellence. The USDA is using Amplified Ag’s technology for its research. (Vertical Farming Daily)
🇹🇷 🇩🇪 Getir is in talks to acquire its rapid delivery rival Gorillas. The acquisition could be completed by the end of next month. (UKTN)
Other news
🇮🇳 Food and bev startup Licious launches “India’s first” D2C plant-based meat brand. Products from the new UnCrave brand are available through the Licious app, marketplaces and stores. (Tech in Asia)
🇺🇸 Impossible Foods lays off 6% of employees. The layoffs involve “roles that have become redundant to others in the organization or that are no longer aligned with our core business priorities,” according to a memo. (Food Dive)
🇺🇸 Revol Greens becomes largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America. The indoor farming company will double its romaine lettuce production in 2023. (Food Navigator)
🇸🇬 Meatiply unveils Asia’s first alternative duck breast. The company’s offerings, which also include kampong chicken yakitori and chicken katsu bites are a mixture of cultivated and plant-based ingredients. (Green Queen)
🇺🇸 Grubhub, Starship send delivery bots to five university campuses. This latest partnership expand’s Grubhub’s college delivery partnerships to more than 250 US campuses. (Restaurant Dive)
Sponsored
International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator