Starship Technologies, maker of the six-wheeled delivery ‘bot famous across Europe, led foodtech funding deals this week with a healthy new round. Alt-meat maker Heura and grower-to-grocer platform ProducePay also announced notable new funding.
In non-investment news, vertical farming company Plenty is pulling its R&D out of California and cutting jobs in the process. Across the pond, iconic British tea company Fortnum & Mason teamed up with Ivy Farm Technologies to create scotch eggs featuring cultivated meat (although it has not yet got the regulatory green light in the UK).
Foodtech funding
🇪🇪 Tallinn-based Starship Technologies raises €83.6 million to make the robot delivery take over the streets EU Startups
🇪🇸 Heura raises €40M Series B as startup promises profitability in boost to plant-based industry Green Queen
🇺🇸 ProducePay raises $38m in Series D funding FinSMEs
🇫🇷 Food Pilot raises €4.5m to monitor and measure progress of players in the agrifood sector Food Pilot LinkedIn
Agtech funding
🇮🇳 Aquaconnect raises $4 million in pre-Series B Times of India
🇺🇸 Innova Memphis leads $2.8m round for iYOTAH to tackle the dairy sector’s massive data problem AgFunderNews
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇩🇰 Novonesis: Chr Hansen and Novozymes merge to form €3.7bn ‘biosolutions’ major FoodNavigator
🇺🇸 John Deere, Corteva partner to deliver customized agronomic solutions to farmers Corteva
🇯🇵 🇸🇬 Temasek teams with Norinchukin on $173 million green agri fund Bloomberg
🇮🇱 Evogene and Verb Biotics enter collaboration agreement to advance probiotic innovation PR Newswire
🇨🇦 Borealis Foods Inc, maker of Gordon Ramsay-backed chef Woo Vegan Ramen, announces NASDAQ listing Vegconomist
🇺🇸 MSD to buy Elanco’s aquaculture assets for $1.3 billion The Fish Site
Funds, grants & accelerators
🇳🇱 Netherlands: The Future Food Fund II closes with target of 40 million euros Vegconomist
🇸🇬 Applications are now open for agrifoodtech founders to join the fifth cohort of the AgFunder GROW Impact Accelerator AgFunderNews
People moves
🇺🇸 Rob Laing bids farewell to Farm.One Vertical Farm Daily
🇺🇸 Meati Foods names CPG veteran to CFO as company juggles growth, profitability Food Dive
🇺🇸 Sweetgreen hires Rossann Williams as COO Fast Casual
🇺🇸 African Agriculture Holdings announces Michael Rhodes as chief executive officer Kron4
🇺🇸 Believer Meats expands leadership team as it prepares for next phase of commercialization Business Wire
Other news
🇺🇸 First Bite emerges from stealth to help food manufacturers navigate ‘antiquated’ foodservice channel AgFunderNews
🇸🇬 Singapore’s Islamic council rules cultivated meat halal “under certain conditions” Vegconomist
🇮🇱 Israel’s Remilk secures regulatory nod for sale of cow-free dairy in Canada Times of Israel
🇧🇪 Fungi in my cheese: Bolder Foods unveils mycelium ingredient for umami-packed cheese alternatives Green Queen
🇺🇸 Kroger unveils new produce supplier biodiversity goal Kroger
🇺🇸 Cultivated seafood co Finless Foods reduces headcount AgFunderNews
🇬🇧 Ivy Farm Technologies partners with Fortnum & Mason to create a cultivated scotch egg Protein Production Technology
🇺🇸 Vertical farming startup Plenty uproots R&D from California, axes 150 employees San Francisco Inno
🇺🇸 First genetically modified food crop becomes available to home gardeners in the US AgTechNavigator
🇺🇸 The EVERY Company to ‘launch with multinationals’ this year as it ramps up manufacturing capacity for animal free egg proteins AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 More meat, more quickly: ProFuse Technology unveils non-GM cell lines for cultivated meat AgFunderNews
Sponsored
International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator