Three of the biggest rounds announced in the last week came from on-demand food delivery startups. India’s Swiggy raised another $700 million, with both the UK’s Deliverect and Mexico’s Calii announcing substantial rounds.
In agtech, Plenty announced the largest round on record for a vertical farming company, scoring $400 million from investors including Walmart; while South Korean ‘smart farm’ startup GreenLabs banked $140 million.
[Disclosure: AFN‘s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in Black Sheep Foods, which is mentioned below.]
Foodtech startup funding
🇮🇳 Swiggy bags $700 million in round led by US asset manager Invesco. This latest capital infusion nearly doubles the on-demand delivery service’s valuation to $10.7 billion. (The Economic Times)
🇬🇧 Deliverect raises $150 million in Series D funding. New funds will go towards hiring and adding new functions to the Deliverect platform, which the company says streamlines the online food ordering process. (TechCrunch)
🇮🇱 Redefine Meat completes $135 million fundraise. According to sources close to the matter, the Israeli plant-based meat company will used the new capital to set up production lines in both Israel and the Netherlands. (Vegconomist)
🇲🇽 Latin American grocery startup Calii raises $22.5 million. Dalus Capital and JAM Fund co-led the Series A round for the Mexican company. (Fresh Plaza)
🇯🇵 Bokksu raises $22 million in Series A funding. The NYC- and Tokyo-based startup offers a subscription service for delivery of traditional Japanese snacks to customers’ doorsteps. (TechCrunch)
🇮🇱 ChickP closes $8 million Series A round. The alt-protein company also appointed a new CEO, Liat Lachish Levy, who will see the company through the global expansion process. (Calcalist)
🇺🇸 Plant-based lamb pioneer Black Sheep Foods bags $5.3 million funding from AgFunder, others. The US alt-protein startup will launch its product in more Bay Area restaurants following its October 2021 debut. (AFN)
🇺🇸 People of color-founded fintech Goodfynd raises $1.8 million to help the food truck industry. Valor Ventures co-led the round with additional capital from Accion Venture Lab and strategic angel investors. (Forbes)
Agtech startup funding
🇺🇸 Plenty raises $400 million in vertical farming’s largest round ever. Walmart was an investor and will also partner with Plenty to carry the latter’s greens in its stores. (AFN)
🇰🇷 South Korean ‘smart farm’ tech startup GreenLabs lands $140 million in funding. The Series C round was led by Hong Kong-based BRV Capital Management. (AFN)
🇧🇷 Ag fintech startup TerraMagna raises $40 million in funding from Japanese tech giant SoftBank and others. The round included $30 million in debt financing and a $10 million equity component. (AFN)
🇮🇩 Aruna reels in $30 million in funding led by Vertex Ventures. The injection brings the aquaculture tech startup’s total Series A funding to $65 million following a July 2021 tranche led by East Ventures and Prosus. (The Business Times)
🇮🇳 Ag commodities platform Bijak raises $19.4 million in Bertelsmann-led Series B round. Existing investors Omidyar Network India, RTP Global Advisors, Better Capital, and Sequoia Capital’s Surge also participated, according to a regulatory filing. (VCCircle)
🇮🇳 BigHaat bags ₹1 billion ($13.4 million) for its online farmer marketplace. JM Financial led the round, with existing investor Beyond Next Ventures among the others to take part. (The Economic Times)
🇨🇦 Susterre Technologies raises $2 million in seed round financing. Carrot Ventures led the investment in the Toronto-based company, which aims to replace blade-based row crop planting, which can be bad for soil health, with ultra-high pressure fluid jet technology. (Carrot Ventures)
🇦🇺 Geora scores A$1.5 million ($1.06 million) seed capital. The startup uses blockchain technology to track and finance ag supply chains. Tenacious Ventures, NAB Ventures, and Flying Fox Ventures participated in the round. (Geora)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 Upside Foods acquires cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence. The latter will adopt Upside’s brand name and bring crustacean products to Upside’s cultivated meat portfolio. (AFN)
🇩🇪🇫🇷 Gorillas in talks to acquire French speedy delivery service Frichti. Negotiations are still ongoing. If passed, they’ll further consolidate the rapid delivery space. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 SPAC AXIOS Sustainable Growth Acquisition files for a $125 million IPO, targeting agtech. The Alpharetta, Georgia-based SPAC plans to invest in tech-driven agricultural businesses in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. (Renaissance Capital)
Funds, grants & accelerators
🇮🇳 Aavishkaar Capital to launch $250 million ESG fund to invest in Africa, Asia. The impact firm has already made a $55 million first close on its ESG First Fund, which will make four to five debt and equity investments of $3 million to $5 million over the next 12 months. (DealStreetAsia)
🇦🇪 Unity founder spearheads Investbridge’s new agtech VC fund. Nicholas Francis, co-founder of software and gaming firm Unity Technologies, has committed $10 million to the new fund as a cornerstone investor, and will work with Dubai-based Investbridge Capital’s team to identify deal opportunities. (Private Equity Wire)
🇨🇦 Koan Capital Corp launches Koan AgTech Fund. The new fund will invest in and help to commercialize early-stage agtech companies across a range of areas, from soil monitoring to bee health technology. (Koan Capital)
Other news
🇺🇸 Fifth Season to build its second robotic vertical farm. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based vertical farming company will open a 180,000-square-foot automated facility in Columbus, Ohio in 2023. (Fifth Season)
🇮🇳 India to offer subsidies of up to 100% to encourage farm drone adoption. “This will make drones more accessible to the common man in the country and will significantly encourage domestic drone production,” a government spokesperson said. (AFN)
🇺🇸 FBN launches new range of adjuvants and crop protection products. The Farmers First line is aimed at optimizing crop protection and fertilizer programs amid rising prices for growers. (FBN)
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