17-23 December , 2022
Weekly Roundup: Stay up to date with the most recent Agrifood Tech news, investments and partnerships
IPOs, M&As & Investments:
Lineage Logistics announced it has raised over $700 million in equity from new and existing strategic partners. The new capital will support the completion of a global pipeline, further existing expansion projects and increase their global investments in solar capacity.
BigBasket, an India-based online grocery player owned by conglomerate Tata Sons, has raised US$200 million at a US$3.2 billion valuation.
Mews announced it has closed its Series C round at $185 million. This latest round brings the total amount raised to date to $225 million. The funding will be used to accelerate product innovation, global expansion and M&A.
Aquaconnect* has raised $15 million in a bid to triple its AquaPartners network in India and accelerate exports to US, China and Japan.
Kodama Systems an innovator in forest restoration, announced that it has raised $6.6 million in a Series Seed funding round co-led by leading climate-tech investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Congruent Ventures.
Copenhagen-based bio-industrial startup EvodiaBio has secured $6.4 million in a financing round. The fresh cash will be used for office space, laboratories and pilot production in Denmark.
Israel based agtech startup FreezeM announced it has raised €6.3 million in EIC funding for its technology that aims to make insect farming into a simple, sustainable and accessible method of protein sourcing on a global scale.
Singapore-based Alchemy Foodtech announced that it has raised $3million from investors The new funds will continue to support Alchemy Foodtech’s next stage of development in markets locally and overseas.
Non-alcoholic wine and spirits startup The Zero Proof announced the closing of its $2 million Seed funding round. Monies will be used to grow their online presence, to make key hires, and to increase production the company’s new, proprietary line of non-alcoholic beverages.
Oman-based cloud kitchen startup KitchenomiKs has raised $1.7 million in its Seed round from angel investors. The cash infusion will be deployed in centralized kitchens, technology, hiring leadership teams, and building more brands.
SaaS startup allO reised €1.4 million to revolutionise how restaurants operate. The capital will be used to grow the team and expand throughout Germany.
Eat food Pakistan raised a $1million pre seed round. The proceeds will be used to expand operations in tier one cities in the country.
Flylab, an agritech startup that produces black soldier fly (BSF)-based ingredients, closed its seed and pre-series A funding rounds, raising $1 million. The company will use the funds to scale its commercial operations.
Agtech robotics startup Barnstorm Agtechannounced the successful close of their equity capital through Harvest Returns' investment platform. The raise, totaling $217,500, will help in their mission to transform the farming economy with autonomous field systems.
Funds, Grants & Partnerships:
Deal StreetAsia report finds that climate tech funding in South East Asia reached $1.11 B this year compared to the $607m of 2021.
Next Meats, Dr. Foods, and ImpacFat announced their collaboration to advance the development of alternative protein products in both Japan and Singapore. The parties inked a memorandum of understanding recently to formalise their collaboration.
Abu Dhabi-based desert tech venture builder and investment platform DANA Global announces its partnership with Agadir Horticultural Complex to jointly establish an innovation hub for resilient and eco-efficient agriculture in the Agadir region.
In 2022, Spain remained prominent among the top ten European food tech countries according to Eatable Adventures’ report, with a total of €268m in investments, an increase of 9.38% from 2021 - Glovo round excluded. Series A rounds increased by nearly 20%.
With the support of Spanish start-up accelerator Eatable Adventures, Columbian corporate group and lipid experts Alianza Team is creating an Open Innovation Portal to foster food industry start-ups focusing on sustainability projects.
Crop One and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory announced that the two organizations have received a $1.5 million cost-matching grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) to help scientists develop a means to efficiently grow plant-based dietary protein via controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
A Dutch consortium of businesses and academia, including cultivated meat pioneer Meatable, DSM, VIVOLTA, and TU Delft, has been awarded a grant of €1 million to fund a five-year research project using protein-based biopolymers.
News & Trends:
Entrepreneur’s agrifood tech trends for 2023 forecast an accelerated digitalization, increase in investments, smallholder farmer empowerment, regenerative agriculture, and building self-sufficiency, and reducing food waste.
Food inflation was – and continues to be – everywhere. However, innovation hasn’t declined this year, with NPD flourishing across many F&B categories. Meanwhile, the new trend "Redefining Value” made it as a Top Ten Trend for 2023.
Nestlé significantly increased its number of new product launches and number of patents in priority areas by simplifying its innovation process, fostering an entrepreneurial culture and collaborating with external startups and retailers.
Research, ingenuity and inspiration to “do something useful” are leading My Forest Foods to eventually grow 3 million pounds of mushroom roots a year at its Swersey Silos facility.
Matrix F.T announced the first cultivated chicken made in Ohio, at the Matrix F.T. facility.
Nine-year-old Melbourne delivery service YourGrocer, shuttered its doors on Friday, just weeks after seeking to raise more than $1 million via crowdfunding.
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