This week, Amazon backs India’s FreshToHome and Pure Salmon inked a whopping $507 million deal with Saudi Arabia’s government. Layoffs continue, while regulators in Finland approve the use of “burger patty” in marketing plant-based meat products.
Foodtech funding
🇦🇪 🇸🇦 Pure Salmon secures $507 million to build aquaculture salmon farms in Saudi Arabia. The investments will come from the country’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. (The Fish Site)
🇮🇳 Fish and meat eGrocer FreshToHome nets $104 million Series D to. Amazon’s Smbhav Venture Fund led the round with participation from Investcorp & others. (Business Today)
🇧🇪 Ingredient company Paleo raises $12.7 million Series A for its protein ingredients. The round was led by DSM Venturing and Planet A Ventures (The Spoon)
AgFunder and Toyota Ventures back growth-medium producer Future Fields. The latter will use the $11.2 million seed extension to build a production facility (AFN) [Disclosure: AFN’s parent company is AgFunder.]
Wild Microbes secures $3.3 million pre-seed round for precision fermentation. The round was led by Climate Capital with participation from Freeflow Ventures & others. (AFN)
Better Sour raises an oversubscribed $1 million pre-seed from undisclosed investors. The funding will support the launch of its gummy candy. (Nosh)
Agtech funding
🇳🇱 Source.ag closes $23 million Series A to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) system for greenhouse growers. Agrifoodtech VC Astanor Ventures led the round. (AFN)
Alternative materials startup Loliware raises $15.4 million pre-Series A. L Catterton, Alumni Ventures Group & others participated. (AFN)
🇦🇺 SwarmFarm raises A$12 million ($8.3 million) Series A round for its autonomous farming platform. Conexus Venture Capital‘s Emmertech fund led the round. (AFN)
Climate intelligence company CarbonCloud raises $7.9 million Series A. Cusp Capital and Peak Capital co-led the round. (Silicon Canals)
🇨🇦 Swap Robotics bags $7 million to automate vegetation cutting using solar. The round was led by SOLV Energy and included SOSV’s HAX and some angels. (Solar Magazine)
Robigo lands $6.85 million seed round for its crop protection solutions. The round was led by Congruent Ventures with Good Growth Capital and & others. (Robigo)
🇫🇷 Carbon Maps nets $4.2 million pre-seed round from Breega and Samaipata. Funding will go towards Europe expansion, team expansion and strengthening its platform. (Silicon Canals)
Green chemistry startup P2 Science raises undisclosed round. Lewis & Clark AgriFood led the round with participation from existing investors. (PR Newswire)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
Zymtronix, Ginkgo Bioworks partner to produce enzymes for cell-free bio-manufacturing. The partnership will combine Zymtronix’s cell-free processes tech with Gingko’s enzyme engineering and strain expression tech. (PR Newswire)
Restaurant tech company Toast acquires display and drive-thru tech provider Delphi. The deal will see Toast strengthen its service offering for drive-thrus. (Restaurant Dive)
🇳🇱 Major Netherlands institutions launch masterplan for a protein transition in Netherlands. They include Wageningen University & Research, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture & several others (Wageningen University)
Consumer goods company Starco Brands acquires “complete nutrition” brand Soylent. Soylent will operate as a separate business unit within Starco. (AFN)
🇸🇬 🇬🇹 ProfilePrint and Anacafé, the Guatemalan national coffee association, form partnership. The two will deploy AI tech to more than 125,000 Guatemalan coffee farmers. (Daily Coffee News)
Other news
Impossible Foods to lay off 132 workers in April. This follows a previous staff cut amidst a struggling alt-meat industry. (Food Dive)
🇰🇷 Agtech startup GreenLabs to lay off staff in restructuring process. The startup is also facing difficulty in fundraising, after closing a $140 million Series C in 2022. (TechCrunch)
🇦🇺 Plant-based meat producer V2food’s CEO steps down amidst manufacturing plant closure. The startup says it wasn’t the right to have the plant, which cost $20 million to set up. (Vegconomist)
🇳🇴 World’s first fish farm that cultivates both salmon and kelp launches. The farm will use salmon waste to grow the kelp. (The Fish Site)
🇦🇪 8X Ventures to invest $20 million in MENA’s climate tech and cleantech startups. An additional $5 million will go to active startups based in the Middle East. (Techloy)
🇫🇮 Finland allows the name “burger patty” to be used in marketing plant-based products. Startups are however banned from using the term “plant-based meat”. (FFCR)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releases draft guidance on on labeling for plant-based milks. The milk lobby has slammed the guidance for its “circular logic.” (AFN)
🇧🇷 Animal protein producer JBS appeals a recommendation on climate claims. The BBB National Programs National Advertising Division (NAD) recommends JBS stop certain “net zero” claims. (AFN)
Biotech company Calysta granted GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for its FeedKind protein. FeedKind will be used in the US in salmonid feeds. (Feed Strategy)
