Despite ongoing setbacks for the instant grocery sector, JOKR returned to the headlines this week with new funding. Vertical farming startup Plenty was also in the news with a new grant for R&D. Czech startup Mewery put a new spin on the concept of cultivated meat, and The Ugly Company raised funds for upcycled fruit snacks.
Foodtech funding
🇺🇸 G Squared leads $50 million round for instant grocery startup JOKR. The fundraise and JOKR’s $1.3 billion post-money valuation come after months of upheaval for quick commerce startups. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Upcycled fruit snack company The Ugly Company bags $9 million Series A to scale production. Fruit grower and distributor Sun Valley Packing led the round. (Supermarket News)
🇦🇺 Mushroom meat startup Fable secures $8.5 million to expand globally. Singapore’s VC 3 Ventures led the round with participation from Better Bite Ventures and others. (Startup Daily) [Disclosure: AFN’s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in Fable.]
🇩🇰 Reshape Bio raises $8.1 million to digitize microbiology experiments for food & ag. ACME Capital led the round with participation from FundersClub, Y Combinator and others. (FinSMEs)
🇮🇱 Functional protein startup Meala FoodTech closes $1.9 million pre-seed round. The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, part of The Strauss-Group and DSM Venturing led the round. (AgReads)
🇳🇱 QR-based restaurant menu startup Orderli lands €875,000 ($938,000) in new funding. The Y Combinator participant will use the funds to develop its ordering app. (Silicon Canals)
Agtech funding
🇵🇱 NapiFeryn BioTech closes €2.5 million ($2.7 million) round led by Icos Capital. The round will enable the startup to launch its canola/rapeseed protein from large oil pressing side streams. (Icos Capital)
🇻🇳 Agribusiness platform Koina raises $1 million seed round. VinaCapital Ventures led the round, which Koina will put towards tech development and expanding its sales channels. (HiveLife)
🇺🇸 The USDA‘s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to invest $70 million in sustainable ag. This investment is made under NIFA’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. (USDA)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇮🇱 Haifa Group and SimpliiGood partner to optimize the SimpliiGood spirulina supply chain. The alliance aims to enhance sustainability and reduce the environmental footprint of both companies. (PR Newswire)
Funds, grands & accelerators
🇺🇸 The USDA plans $7.5m grant for urban ag and innovative production. The grand is through USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. (iGrow News)
🇺🇸 Plenty harvests $20 million grant to build indoor agriculture research center. The grant, from the State of Wyoming, will significantly scale Plenty’s R&D capabilities, the company said. (FoodBev Media)
Other news
🇨🇿 Mewery debuts “world’s first” cultivated meat made from microalgae cells. The startup says its cultivated meat is made from 75 percent pork cells and 25 percent microalgae cells. (Green Queen)
🇮🇳 Zomato shutters operations in Philippines after 10 years. The food delivery service gave no reason for exiting the market, which was its first in Southeast Asia. (Deal Street Asia)
🇺🇸 Chipotle is testing robotic makelines in its restaurants. The quick-service chain will test automated makeline technology from Hyphen in the first half of 2023. (Restaurant Business Online) [Disclosure: AFN’s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in Hyphen.]
🇮🇱 Remilk hits pause on plans to build a large-scale precision fermentation facility in Denmark. Instead, the company is ramping up production of whey protein to hit production goals more rapidly. (AFN)
🇪🇸 Barcelona bans dark stores, the distribution hubs used by quick-commerce startups. These facilities are under increasing scrutiny because of their impact on surrounding neighborhoods. (Reuters)
🇺🇸 Motif FoodWorks to offer fermentation and bioprocessing services to other startups. Motif will share its knowledge, experience and equipment with others via this new business line. (Food Dive)
🇺🇸 Instacart debuts Scan & Pay system in New York. The move into two Foodcellar Market stores is part of the company’s strategy to offer more in-store experiences to customers. (Grocery Dive)
🇬🇧 Deliveroo cuts 350 jobs or almost one in ten staff. The food delivery service said had over-hired and now grapples with a staff that’s too big for the current cost of living crisis. (The Telegraph)
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