International

[ad_1] As the nation’s leading state for corn, pork, eggs, and renewable fuels, it is no secret that Iowa is a world leader in agriculture production. However, a fast-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem is proving that the state can also grow the next generation of technology businesses to serve the worlds’ farmers, consumers and agricultural industries. Over […]

[ad_1] Jakarta-based social commerce startup Chilibeli has raised $10 million in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Alto Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Kinesys Group, and Sequoia Capital’s Surge accelerator also participated in the round. Chilibeli is a group-buying network that aims to connect farmers and suppliers directly to consumers. To achieve this, it […]

[ad_1] Though the storms of hundreds of billions of locusts ravaging crops across East Africa have been the worst in seventy years, most crop damage around the world relates to something more fundamental — water, whether that’s floods, droughts or impurities. (Even the locusts themselves breed best after unusually heavy rainfall.) One way to monitor […]

[ad_1] As we all “shelter in place” and “socially distance” ourselves, we are learning a lot about what we can live without. And what we can’t. Agri-foodtech investors seem to be collectively counting their blessings in that respect. “We probably have it better than many of our generalist VC peers because the only thing people […]

[ad_1] AgFunder’s China AgriFood Startup Investing Report 2019 with Bits x Bites reveals that Chinese food and agriculture startups raised $3.6 billion last year, down 38% from 2018’s $5.8 billion. Last year didn’t see a repeat of 2018’s outsize transactions, like Meituan Dianping’s $1.5 billion pre-IPO raise. Also contributing to the decrease in investment in […]

[ad_1] Jakarta-based TaniHub Group has raised $17 million in ‘Series A-plus’ funding, following up on its $10 million Series A round in May last year. The latest round was co-led by Indonesia’s Intudo Ventures and Singapore-based Openspace Ventures, both of which participated in the earlier Series A raise. Other investors joining the A-plus round included […]

[ad_1] The proliferation of algae isn’t typically a good sign, environmentally speaking. Algae blooms, which are worsening with climate change, strangle other freshwater organisms and marine life. But Sofie Allert and Angela Wuff have a vision of how algae can be used to have a positive environmental impact. “Algae are really incredible organisms,” Allert tells […]

[ad_1] DiMuto, a supply chain visibility platform for the agrifood sector, has received funding from Colombia’s Latin Leap VC Studio. The Singaporean startup will use the funding to support its expansion in Latin America. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. DiMuto digitizes agrifood supply chains using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. So far, […]

[ad_1] A drive down some of Ukraine’s yawning roads is a lesson in scale. Fields of swaying crops span for miles beneath a blue sky—a view fitting for one of the world’s top grain producers and underscoring how the Eastern European country earned the nickname “Europe’s breadbasket.” Just how extensive Ukraine’s farmland is has only […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Winnie Leung is vice president at Bits x Bites, an agtech and foodtech-focused venture capital firm based in Shanghai, China. AgFunder produces its annual China AgriFood Startup Investing Report in partnership with Bits x Bytes. AgFunder is the parent company of AFN.  Last year, agrifood startups in China – the sector’s biggest […]

[ad_1] Strictly speaking, vertical farming has been with us since the dawn of agriculture; it would be interesting to see wheat growing any way other than vertically. But the term, despite its ambiguity, is now recognized shorthand for vertically stacked farming, where layers of crops are grown on top of each other, and where conditions like light, […]