International

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Based in Singapore, John Friedman is director of AgFunder’s Asia operations and investment director at GROW, the global agrifood tech accelerator backed by AgFunder and supported by Enterprise Singapore. AgFunder is AFN’s parent company. Having received nearly 500 entries from startups and academic R&D teams across the globe, applicants to the United […]

[ad_1] When it comes to niche tech solutions, farmers have more options today than at any time in the past. From marketplace apps that help them to buy supplies and sell their produce, to drones and sensors linked to their phones that help them keep their farms in check, there is an abundance of choice. […]

[ad_1] Australia is the driest country on Earth. More than two thirds of its landmass receives less than 500 mililitres of rain each year; the devastating bushfire season this past summer, which made headlines across the globe, shows just how destructive this lack of rainfall can be. But Australia is also one of the world’s […]

[ad_1] Wangjiahuan, a Chinese B2B portal for agricultural produce, has raised 600 million RMB ($85 million) in a funding round led by ‘super app’ Meituan Dianping. A Meituan spokesperson confirmed its investment in Wangjiahuan to AFN. Based in Shenzhen, Wangjiahuan is one of several farm-to-business (F2B) ecommerce platforms competing in the Chinese market. Its rivals […]

[ad_1] Plant-based food products are often touted for their environmental benefits over those involving animal agriculture, but they’re certainly not perfect. Growing and processing crops into food products still requires a lot of natural resources including water, fertilizer, pesticides, and energy. Benson Hill, the crop genetics startup based out of St Louis, Missouri, is working […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Hemendra Mathur is an investor, mentor and board member of many Indian agritech, food, and foodtech startups and overseas. He works as venture partner with Bharat Innovation Fund. He is also co-founder of ThinkAg – a platform for accelerating adoption of innovations in the agriculture and food space. The views expressed in this […]

[ad_1] Alternative protein gets plenty of limelight in the agri-foodtech arena nowadays. But there are startups from outside the “fake meat” craze that are having just as big an impact on the global ecosystem. Agribusiness marketplaces are one such category, seeking to bring greater efficiency to the agrifood supply chain both upstream and downstream of […]

[ad_1] Livestock technology is gaining momentum both in terms of investor interest and the types of technologies being developed. From precision biologics to replace antibiotics to AI-powered tools to help get the headcount right to computer vision to do daily health checkups, startups are tackling some of the industry’s biggest pain points. For consumers, welfare […]

[ad_1] The US still dominates investment in the agri-foodtech space, with 44% of all fundings last year taking place in the country. But while deal numbers and investment value actually decreased Stateside compared to 2018, other geographies picked up the slack – with one non-US startup banking 2019’s biggest funding across the sector. According to […]

[ad_1] Pathogens, as is clear to anyone tracking the outbreak of Covid-19 on humans or African Swine Fever on pigs, can inflict disastrously global impacts on public health, as well as wreaking havoc on vital food supply chains. To date, preventing disease outbreaks among livestock has largely involved a “prophylactic” mix of vaccines, antibiotics or […]

[ad_1] When you think about putting a film around something in the food space, you most likely think about  packaging or perhaps one of the growing number of shelf life enhancement startups that coat produce in a special material to stop them going bad. Last year, for example, Sufresca raised a $500,000 seed round for […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Dr Belinda Clarke is director of UK-based Agri-TechE (formerly known as Agri-Tech East), Europe’s largest independent membership business connecting farmers and growers with researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs and investors using innovation to enhance the economic growth, agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability of the agri-food value chain. Prior to her current role, Belinda was […]

[ad_1] Small farmers in Brazil have a new option when it comes to procuring farm inputs thanks to InstaAgro, an online direct sales platform for agricultural inputs, machinery, and parts. Led by family office Rolesis Holdings, the startup has raised $600k in seed funding, receiving its first tranche of $300,000 in 2019 and the second […]

[ad_1] Chemical fungicides are a tried and tested way to get rid of fungal outbreaks like powdery mildew and botrytis; but many of these are coming under scrutiny from consumers and regulators. So Biotalys is working to produce biological alternatives by mimicking the immune response of certain animals, such as llamas. The post Biotalys increases […]

[ad_1] Venture capital investment across all industries dropped in 2019 — around 16%, according to the VenturePulse report — against a backdrop of global uncertainty related to the US-China trade war, Brexit, and a weakening Chinese economy. It was the same for agri-foodtech but not to the same extent, with total funding coming in just 4.8% lower […]