AgFunderNews reports on the evolution of the global food and agriculture system. By going beyond the headlines, we analyze the people, companies and technologies aiming to improve human and planetary health. Publishing daily, our team of award-winning journalists delivers deeper insight on the growing foodtech, agtech and climate tech industries. A multimedia publication, AgFunderNews is a division of AgFunder, one of the world’s most active agrifoodtech venture capital firms.
80 Acres Farms calls it quits, Plantible bags $35m, Black Sheep Foods bets on ‘TVP 2.0,’ AI-powered airborne pathogen detection, Beyond Meat Q2, regen ag messaging
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This week: Indoor ag heavyweight 80 Acres Farms throws in the towel, Plantible bags $35m to scale up RuBisCO production, and Black Sheep Foods bets on ‘TVP 2.0’ as hybrid meat gathers pace. Elsewhere, InsectBiotech nets new funds to build an insect ag operation fueled by olive pomace. Plus:
And finally… San Francisco-based biorefining startup Hyfé is entering negotiations for its first commercial deployment to extract multiple products from food-processing waste. Have a great week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine Indoor ag heavyweight 80 Acres Farms to cease operations "We have helped plant the seeds for generations of future harvests," says CEO Mike Zelkind. Jennifer Marston Plantible raises $35m in debt, equity, to increase RuBisCO protein production fivefold “We've rolled out a new strain that has allowed us to increase yield by more than 40%," says CEO Tony Martens. Elaine Watson BioScout raises $4.8m for early warning system for fungal pathogens “BioScout solves a massive, urgent problem, whilst also building a powerful dataset that amplifies the impact,” says Astanor's Harry Biggs. Elaine Watson Micropep kickstarts global regulatory registration of its peptide-based biofungicide Regulatory submissions mark the company's shift from research and discovery towards commercialization. Jennifer Marston Black Sheep Foods bets on ‘TVP 2.0’ as hybrid meat gains traction - AgFunder portfolio co! Black Sheep Foods has reinvented itself as a B2B supplier of next-gen TVP that can be blended with meat or alt meat at high inclusion rates. Elaine Watson InsectBiotech Raises $8.3m to scale BSFL production in Andalusia, Spain “We are entering a new phase where the focus is on execution at scale," says cofounder and CEO Ignacio Gavilán. Elaine Watson Beyond Meat leans into Europe, Canada, as US sales continue to slide Positive sales in international retail were offset by continued declines across the rest of the business in Q2. Elaine Watson Waste to value: Hyfé expands refinery model to extract fibers and bioactives from food side streams Hyfé produces four product streams from food processing waste: bioactives, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, and fermentable sugars. Elaine Watson Economics trump environment when it comes to commercializing regenerative ag: report A label stating “supports farmer livelihoods” will resonate more than a regenerative-organic certification stamp for some consumers. Jennifer Marston Plus: Mitti Labs raises $9.5m for water-efficient rice farming. Jennifer Marston "Tech transfer is underway at Cell Agritech in Singapore and The Cultured Hub in Switzerland," says Aleph Farms CEO Didier Toubia. Elaine Watson Cargill Ventures eyes renewed dealmaking as agrifoodtech resets Erin VanLanduit: "We're getting to a really interesting and exciting place where I think you're going to see activity start to pick up again." Elaine Watson Weed control, disease, and drainage are top pain points for farmers in 2026, says Grand Farm The US-based agtech innovation hub is rolling out Phase II of its campus for testing new technologies on the farm. Jennifer Marston Exclusive: Calysta hires new CEO, seeks new capital as JV partner ends financial support The Calysta/Adisseo China JV “urgently requires substantial and sustainable financial support to complete technical upgrades." Elaine Watson
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A new patent cliff is coming – The buy signal for biotech Britain could face food shortages as drought continues, farmers warn The Guardian Why tariffs haven’t raised crop protection prices —yet Croplife FDA’s UPF definition may lack legal force, but not policy impact FoodNavigator Beyond the crop protection patent cliff: How competitive advantage shifts after patent expiration AgriBusiness Global What led to Salad and Go's downfall Restaurant Dive 2026 Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2025 Developing Markets AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2025 Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report 10 years in agrifoodtech: an 83-page e-zine Climate Capital: Financing Adaptation Pathways for Smallholder Farmers Junior project implementation analyst Solinftec (Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil) Business development and marketing intern Singrow (Singapore) Business development manager, Italy Aerobotics (Bologna/remote) Klim (remote/Hungary) Aquaculture tech support specialist Tepbac (Can Gio District, Vietnam) IT admin Varaha (Gurgaon Haryana, India) Future leader of farm operations Eratani (Indonesia) ♥️ our newsletter? Forward to a friend or subscribe here |
AgFunderNews
AgFunderNews reports on the evolution of the global food and agriculture system. By going beyond the headlines, we analyze the people, companies and technologies aiming to improve human and planetary health. Publishing daily, our team of award-winning journalists delivers deeper insight on the growing foodtech, agtech and climate tech industries. A multimedia publication, AgFunderNews is a division of AgFunder, one of the world’s most active agrifoodtech venture capital firms.
Express interest in investing in Fund V. AgFunder is a top 100 VC, according to TIME and Statista. Is your business ready for AI analytics? Find out more here. This week, Elaine caught up with David Protein founder Peter Rahal after his $250m Series B and took a deep dive into ag robotics at Reservoir Farms to learn how startups are starting to build more flexible 'bots, more quickly. Elsewhere, Jenn quizzed PepsiCo on how to support the next generation of farmers. Plus: David Protein: Medici...
Express interest in investing in Fund V. AgFunder is a top 100 VC, according to TIME and Statista. Is your business ready for AI analytics? Find out more here. This week, UPSIDE Foods terminated its $50 million bid for Believer Meats' US cultivated meat facility but says it “remains interested” in the site. Elsewhere, TerraBlaster—a startup using tech first deployed on the Mars rover to determine levels of key nutrients in the soil—raised a $12.5 million seed round as it gears up for...
Express interest in investing in Fund V. AgFunder is a top 100 VC, according to TIME and Statista. Is your business ready for AI analytics? Find out more here. This week: Single-cell protein has attracted growing interest as an efficient way to produce protein, but many startups have struggled to scale. dsm-firmenich is betting that an optimized yeast strain, low-cost feedstocks, and superior yield and productivity can close the gap. Elsewhere, gene editing is rapidly expanding beyond row...