Ag equipment giant John Deere announced this week it will be the exclusive OEM partner of The Reservoir, an ag robotics incubation hub slated to open in October in California.
India-based agtech startup Cropin, meanwhile, is applying some AI-powered field intelligence to potato growing in Europe thanks to a financial boost from EIT.
Elsewhere, the Good Food Institute got a new leader, Northern Ireland’s science sector got monetary a boost from the UK Industrial Strategy, and Chipotle showed off a new way of delivering burritos.
Funding news
🇺🇸 Better Meat Co raises $31m Series A: ‘Some days, building a startup in our sector can feel like being a player in Squid Game’ AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Keychain raises $30m Series B, launches AI-powered operating system for CPG AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Soil Action raises $5.25M to end the guesswork beneath the surface Access Newswire
🇸🇬 Singrow will take its seed breeding and vertical farming business beyond Asia after new funding AgFunderNews
🇬🇧 SugaROx lands £1 million boost to accelerate field testing biostimulant research SugaROx
🇺🇸 OoNee secures investment from Builders Vision The Fish Site
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 John Deere teams up with the Reservoir The Packer
🇳🇿 🇫🇷 Fonterra agrees sale of Consumer and associated businesses to Lactalis for $3.845 billion Fonterra
🇺🇸 Indoor ag heavyweights 80 Acres Farms and Soli Organic to merge: ‘I hope this is the start of a new era’ AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Merck and mantro launch EdiMembre to advance alternative protein production Food & Drink International
🇵🇭 🇺🇸 Century Pacific North America acquires Loma Linda from Atlantic Natural Foods Food Bev Media
🇳🇿 Halter will equip more US ranchers with virtual fencing tech via new partnership with federal land manager AgFunderNews
🇳🇱 🇬🇧 Meatable acquires Uncommon Bio’s cultivated meat platform as latter pivots to therapeutics AgFunderNews
Funds, grants & accelerators
🇬🇧 Northern Ireland science and tech industries boosted by over £30 million from UK Industrial Strategy Gov.uk
🇬🇧 Cambridge’s King’s College launches first-ever startup incubator UK Tech News
People news
🇬🇧 Ex-Defra secretary George Eustice joins Re-Genus FruitNet
🇺🇸 Bonsai Robotics announces deep-bench leadership to accelerate AI-first autonomy for agriculture Yahoo Finance
🇮🇱 Groundwork BioAg appoints Alon Werber as CEO; Co-Founder Dr. Yossi Kofman transitions to chairman iGrow News
Other news
🇺🇸 U.S.-led BioMADE Initiative expands In Iowa Business Facilities
🇬🇧 British plant-based egg Crackd rolls out in US to take on Eat Just Green Queen
🇺🇸 Secretary Rollins blocks taxpayer dollars for solar panels on prime farmland USDA
🇺🇸 Deere & Co. announces additional layoffs amid continued sales decline Michigan Farmers News
🇺🇸 WK Kellogg signs legal agreement to remove artificial dyes from cereals Food Dive
🇮🇩 Indonesian prosecutors seize TaniHub ex-CEO’s land in $25m fraud probe Tech in Asia
🇺🇸 Chipotle launches Zipline drone delivery in Texas Restaurant Dive
🇫🇷 Nestlé develops ‘groundbreaking’ process to boost cocoa production Food Dive
🇮🇱 Vanilla Vida to establish full-scale integrated growing and curing facility in Uganda AgFunderNews
