Two scoops this week: A meltdown at alt-meat co Meati, which initiated mass layoffs blaming “financial holds on company accounts,” and news that bidders—including Miyoko Schinner—are circling the assets of alt-dairy brand Miyoko’s, which entered insolvency proceedings last month. There was also bad news from Danish insect ag firm ENORM, which was declared bankrupt, although fellow insect ag firm nextProtein raised new funds to scale production in Tunisia. Precision fermentation startup The...
8 days ago • 5 min read
This week, Bill Gates threw the cat amongst the pigeons... While climate change is serious, it will "not lead to humanity’s demise," said Gates; tackling poverty and disease are now higher on his agenda, according to a new essay. "Sometimes the world acts as if any effort to fight climate change is as worthwhile as any other. As a result, less-effective projects are diverting money and attention from efforts that will have more impact on the human condition." Elsewhere, Jenn Marston had a...
15 days ago • 4 min read
This week: a mixed bag for alt protein. Plant-based cheesemaker Stockeld Dreamery called it quits, while MATR Foods secured new funds to expand its minimally processed meat alternatives, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office teamed up with The EVERY Company and Vivici to explore a 4-million-liter facility for alt protein production in the UAE. Elsewhere, Jenn Marston examined the current state of the bioherbicide market and checked in on Q3 funding for ag robotics, while Elaine Watson caught up...
22 days ago • 4 min read
A flurry of funding activity in Europe this week: Swiss precision spraying firm Ecorobotix bagged $150m, while UK-based Wild Bioscience reeled in $60m to scale its AI-driven, climate-smart crop tech. Meanwhile, Italy’s Maia Ventures launched a $64m fund focused for food & ag startups. Elsewhere, food policy experts were left reeling after the Trump administration axed the team collecting dietary intake data for NHANES, a move the CSPI slammed as "bewildering" and Prof. Marion Nestle blasted...
29 days ago • 5 min read
For those hoping to see a resurgence in agrifoodtech spending—or at least stabilization after years of decline—keep hoping. New data from AgFunder shows further declines in Q3, but some notable rounds from livestock management and alt protein startups. On a more positive note, however, there was a sizeable Series A round this week from Phagos, which is addressing bacterial resistance with bacteriophage drugs for animals, and, eventually, humans. Meanwhile, plant-based cheesemaker Climax Foods...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Lots of action in the insect ag space this week, with a buyer emerging for debt-laden Aspire's cricket farm in Ontario, Canada, and a French court giving loss-making mealworm farmer Ÿnsect more time to restructure. Innovafeed has in turn paused operations at its pilot facility in Illinois, but says plans to build a large-scale plant there are “very much alive.” Beyond Meat’s move to restructure its debt did not impress one alt protein investor, meanwhile: “When you ask investors to swap into...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Greetings from London, where AgFunderNews has been catching up with industry leaders at World-Agri-Tech and Future Food-Tech in a week that saw a flurry of funding rounds in alt-protein in Europe, with hefty checks going to Nxtfood, The Protein Brewery, and Revyve. Not surprisingly, AI dominated the conversations at both events, with startups deploying it in everything from plant breeding and new product development to price and supply forecasting for soft commodities. GLP-1 was also a hot...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
The big news this week: High-tech greenhouse operator Revol Greens made the “painful” decision to shutter operations in California and focus on its sites in Texas, Georgia, and Minnesota. We also saw big European funding rounds for virtual fencing co NoFence, manufacturing software co BRAINR, and bio-products specialist Bioweg, while Mad Capital closed a $78m fund for regen ag. Elsewhere, California Cultured broke new ground with a plant cell culture industry first, while VTT challenged a key...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
The big news this week: Drama in the alt egg arena as Onego Bio took aim at The Every Co in an explosive lawsuit, plus a $50m raise for organic fertilizer co. Nitricity, which says its new plant in Delhi, CA, is already sold out until 2028. We also saw the official release of the MAHA report, prompting relief in some quarters and frustration in others with its emphasis on research over regulation. Elsewhere, Jenn Marston learned about a new partnership exploring nutrient density in...
2 months ago • 5 min read