Summer’s hot but the funding is not—at least not this week in agrifoodtech, where just a handful of capital raises graced the headlines. On the other hand, M&A saw a surge of activity, including the completion of the heavily delayed merger between Bunge and grain network Viterra.
In CPG land, Mars launched a “sustainability solutions fund” to address carbon emissions. The company has not, at last check, made steps to remove synthetic dyes from its products.
Finally, Olo, one of the darlings of the pandemic-era restaurant-tech boom, announced this week it would once again become a private company.
Startup funding news
🇮🇩 KIS raises $23m debt from responsAbility to fund biogas projects in Indonesia Deal Street Asia
🇮🇳 Agritech startup Eeki raises $7 Mn from Sixth Sense Ventures Entrackr
🇮🇳 Loopworm raises $3.25M to power a protein revolution using silkworms Indian Startup Times
🇨🇦 Algocell secures $2.8M in pre-seed funding to optimize bioprocessing with AI Vegconomist
🇳🇱 Rockstart invests in biopesticide maker BugBiome Rockstart LinkedIn
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 Bunge completes long-delayed mega-merger with grain handler Viterra Reuters
🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Miraterra acquires soil DNA startup Trace Genomics: ‘Independent growth wasn’t sustainable’ AgFunderNews
🇪🇺 New €700,000 initiative expands climate-neutral tech on dairy farms Tech.eu
🇮🇱 Speciality chemicals manufacturer ICL buys Lavie Bio activity from Evogene AgFunderNews
Funds, grants & accelerators
🇺🇸 Mars launches $250 million Sustainability Solutions Fund ESG Today
🇳🇱 National Growth Fund invests €196.4M in Amsterdam’s Biotech Booster programme Silicon Canals
People moves
🇫🇷 Micropep nabs former Indigo, Syngenta exec for CEO role AgTech Navigator
🇬🇧 Kynetec appoints Ines Kapphan as Chief Operating Officer, Agriculture Kynetec
Other news
🇺🇸 Olo sells itself for $2B Restaurant Dive
🇮🇳 Rebel Foods shuts offices, weighs exit from Smoor amid restructuring Restaurant India
🇳🇱 Cultivated seafood company Upstream Foods to wind down operations Upstream Foods
🇦🇺 Aussie Plant-Based Co makes comeback with new products, nine months after liquidation Green Queen
🇬🇧 Gourmey’s cell-cultivated meat application approved by UK food agencies Vegconomist
🇺🇸 M&M’s and Skittles maker resists RFK Jr.’s demand to remove synthetic dyes from candies New York Post
🇺🇸 AgroSpheres and Wilbur-Ellis launch FUN-THYME™, a powerful broad-spectrum biofungicide built on novel AgriCell® technology Agrospheres
