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.
Agrifood reacts to regen ag executive order, tackling GLP-1 muscle loss, ZBiotics hits milestone, big raises for Stenon and The Protein Brewery
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 ZBiotics founder Zack Abbott on the latest in GM probiotics and Jenn spoke to Stenon as the firm secured $20.5m to measure plant-available nitrogen directly in the field. Elsewhere, farmers, startups, and others weighed in on the good, bad, and "hollow" aspects of the newly signed executive order to boost regenerative agriculture in the US. Plus:
And finally… Is non-thermal plasma for boosting seed performance ready for prime time? We caught up with Sylvarum at AgFunder's AGM. Have a fantastic week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine Responses to President Trump's Executive Order run the gamut, from optimism and applause to warnings about hype and hollow promises. Jennifer Marston ZBiotics takes GM probiotics mainstream with 15m+ ‘pre-alcohol’ shots sold “Our compound annual growth rate from 2021 through 2025 was approximately 113%,” says CEO Zack Abbott. Elaine Watson Stenon bags $20.5m to combat fertilizer price hikes with better nitrogen management The German company's nitrogen and soil data platform aims to help growers build a longer-term view of soil productivity. Jennifer Marston Exclusive: ProFuse Technology raises $1.5m to tackle muscle loss in the GLP-1 era The firm has "transitioned from a dedicated foodtech company into a biotech-driven muscle health discovery platform." Elaine Watson The firm was advised to withdraw and refile its GRAS notice due to “deficiencies” but insists the move won't scupper its US plans. Elaine Watson Spring Innovation Fund debuts as first venture philanthropy firm dedicated to animal welfare tech “We’re focused on where we believe an intervention can significantly improve animal welfare but also has a commercially plausible path to market," says CEO Eitan Fischer. Elaine Watson Exclusive: Bayou Best Foods acquires BettaF!sh to build global presence in plant-based seafood In the near term, Bayou Best Foods' plant-based shrimp will become available to BettaF!sh's foodservice partners across Europe. Elaine Watson 🎥 Can non thermal plasma seed treatment move from lab curiosity to broad acre reality? - AgFunder portfolio co! Sylvarum is running seven active pilots and targeting 10 by the end of this year, says cofounder Guadalupe Murga. Elaine Watson Biosphere picks up NovoNutrients assets in gas fermentation shakeout UV sterilization tech can make gas or sugar fermentation economical at smaller scales, claims Biosphere. Elaine Watson Plus: Kickstarter for cultivated lox. Jennifer Marston Deep innovation, limited capital define Argentina’s agrifoodtech opportunity The country's constraints have produced a generation of startups built around efficiency, resilience, adoption, and global scalability. By guest contributor Bernardo Milesy Cultivated meat deep dive: After the crash, who’s still standing? Cultivated meat is well past its honeymoon period after a string of high-profile failures. But is there light at the end of the tunnel? The project is too capital intensive for classic VC but not yet generating revenues required for traditional project finance, says the firm. Elaine Watson From Taxol to cocoa: Can plant cell culture make the leap from drugs to food? Could plant cell culture unlock a new category of "precision botanicals" or is it a "capital intensive money pit?" Elaine Watson
Sabanto Inc. and Verdant Robotics Announce Technical Integration of Autonomous Tractor Operation with SharpShooter Plant-Level Precision Application - Featuring Verdant Robotics! Robotics Tomorrow Resurrect Bio and Bejo partner to advance spinach disease resistance - Featuring Resurrect Bio! Farmers Review Africa
3 ex-Palantir engineers raise $60m from Index, Iconiq, SAP for agentic operating system Sifted Tenzin Seldon: The GLP-1 boom is the biggest climate story no one is pricing in Fortune What happens when the farmer dies? Farm Progress I build robots that restore ecosystems. Here’s why AI is being used for the opposite Inc Made in the USA: Powering innovation in ag retail CropLife 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 IntegriCulture inc. (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) Future Fields (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) Research Technician – Product Development & Innovation Chinova Bioworks (Fredericton, NB) Talent Bank | Exclusively for People with Disabilities (PwD) Solinftec (Araçatuba - SP and Hybrid) Eratani (West-, East-, and Central Java, South Sulawesi, Indonesia) Plantation specialist/horticulturalist, Bangladesh Varaha (remote) People operations specialist Klim (Berlin, Germany) ♥️ 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: Despite steady growth over the last year, there's still a whole lotta work to do educating farmers and investors on biological inputs, according to Dr. Pam Marrone at the recent Salinas Biological Summit in California. Elsewhere, agrifood corporates have no lack of ambition around regenerative agriculture. Now they need the...
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: It’s fair to say that cultivated meat is now well past its honeymoon period after a string of high-profile failures. But is there light at the end of the tunnel, or is one of agrifoodtech’s biggest moonshots destined for the dustbin of history before it’s even out of the starting blocks? Elsewhere, Liberation Bioindustries...
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: Green ammonia startup Faraday Earth reckons its system could put it within striking distance of fossil fuel-derived gray ammonia, the backbone of most nitrogen-based fertilizers. Elsewhere, mixed fortunes in the whole cut alt meat space: French startup SWAP Food called it quits but Israel's Chunk Foods is eyeing...