International

[ad_1] GrainChain, a software platform that develops blockchain and IoT tools for the ag industry, raised $5 million from Overstock.com’s blockchain accelerator, Medici Ventures. This follows its initial investment of $2.5 million in the Texas-based startup in December 2018.  The value of blockchain in food supply chains and agriculture is estimated to be $60.8 million […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Scott Nichols is the founder and principal of Food’s Future. Food’s Future’s mission is to accelerate the expansion of responsible aquaculture. At Food’s Future, Scott works to create a food future filled with a plentiful supply of healthful and delicious fish. He does this by assisting businesses that create aquaculture feeds, raise […]

[ad_1] Israel-based biological crop protection technology startup WeedOUT recently announced the first close of a Series A round led by Syngenta Ventures to tackle weeds that are resistant to chemical herbicides such as glyphosate. If effective, this product could be revolutionary for the bio-crop protection space; it’s understood that efficacy in biological alternatives to herbicides […]

[ad_1] The German chemicals and life science giant Bayer has opened its new automated greenhouse facility in Marana, Arizona. The facility is the first of its kind for the company and the most technically advanced, the company says in a press release sent to AFN. Costing roughly $100 million for a company that has had […]

[ad_1] You may have heard a growing number of agri-foodtech startups talk about how they’re “harnessing nature” to create new products and technologies. It could be they’ve discovered a soil microbe that can help crops grow under tough conditions or uptake nitrogen with more efficacy, or they’ve genetically designed a microbe to secrete a particular […]

[ad_1] Editors Note: Rob Leclerc is a founding partner of AgFunder, where he co-leads the investment team.  It’s hard to know how to respond to the spread of COVID-19. The virus is creating uncertainty across the world, impacting societies and businesses with varying degrees of severity.  I’ve seen a lot of bad advice in the […]

[ad_1] If you are a startup innovating in the horticulture space, there is a new guy on the block named Phil that you really ought to meet. Major horticulture company Priva recently debuted the Priva Horticulture Innovation Lab or Phil for short. Founded in 1959, the Dutch building controls company is one of the biggest […]

[ad_1] The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is hoping to spur a new wave of innovation tackling some of global agriculture’s biggest challenges. The organization recently launched the Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development, which has three areas of focus including the future of food and digital ag. The other two categories are […]

[ad_1] For most shoppers, it is easy to spot the squelchy, sad-looking tomatoes marooned on the back of the shelf. Subtle traits in color, feel, smell, or texture swiftly drive reactions like, “ah, well: they’re discounted and still edible; I guess I’ll still buy them,” or, “it’s definitely past its best, so I’ll find another […]

[ad_1] MycoWorks, which produces a lab-grown leather from mycelium (the root structure of mushroom) announced its $17 million Series A earlier this week, after its unveiling at NY Fashion Week with a feature in Vogue Magazine a couple of weeks ago. The round was led by DCVC Bio, with investment from Novo Holdings, 8VC, Future […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: George McBride is the co-founder and CEO of Hanway Associates, a London-based strategic consultancy specialising in cannabis research, new market entry, commercial diligence and M&A strategy. Here he writes about the developing legal cannabis market in the UK and the creation of CROP17, a collaboration between Hanway Associates, Savills and CambridgeHOK focused […]

[ad_1] In the discourse about agriculture’s impact on the environment, some voices are advocating for a new way to perceive the people who grow our food. Instead of viewing them as the source of the problem, this camp believes they ought to be viewed as the source of our solution. “The bottom line is that […]

[ad_1] Humans have deployed technology to defy nature’s limitations on the cultivation of food – often to nature’s detriment. Now, a growing number of venture capitalists are doubling down on technology to harmonize agriculture and nature.  Mission-driven investment firms are writing early stage checks to companies making biological crop treatments, food preservation techniques and tech-controlled […]

[ad_1] AgFunder’s sixth annual investment report — rather flirtatiously described by the research team as “our love letter to the industry” — is now officially published; it can be downloaded right here, right now. There’s more maths behind this romantic agri-foodtech gesture than quills by moonlight: “Utilizing new advanced machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to […]

[ad_1] NewLeaf Symbiotics, which develops and commercializes proprietary microbes for biological inputs, has raised $20 million in Series D funding. Koch Agronomic Holdings, Leaps by Bayer, Otter Capital, S2G Ventures and RockPort Capital were participants in the investment round. The company raised a $30 million Series C in 2017 that was used to triple its […]