AgFunderNews reports on the evolution of the global food and agriculture system. By going beyond the headlines, we analyse the people, companies and technologies aiming to improve human and planetary health. Publishing daily news, 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 Inc, one of the world’s most active agrifoodtech venture capital firms.
Crunch time for cultivated meat, John Deere on 10 years in agtech, Solar Foods bags $8.8m for protein from air
Can cultivated meat transition from a loss-making novelty served at a handful of high-end restaurants to a commercially viable alternative to animal ag? This week, Elaine Watson spoke with a raft of startups and investors in the space, while Jenn Marston caught up with the VP of automation at John Deere to talk about the last 10 years in agtech.
It's also been a big week for Entobel, which opened Asia's largest insect protein plant, and Solar Foods, which bagged $8.8m to grow protein from microbes that feed on elements from the air.
Have a great weekend, and if you're in the US, happy Thanksgiving! Louisa, Elaine, and Jenn
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Industry and funding news
Crunch time for cultivated meat: ‘Probably 70-90% of players will fail in the next year’
On paper, cultivated meat might seem like a no-brainer. In practice, however, there’s no playbook for biomanufacturing meat at scale... By Elaine Watson
Mizuho Securities analyst on Beyond Meat: ‘They’re just sort of stuck’
Is Beyond Meat going to run out of money? What happens next? By Elaine Watson
Protein from air: Solar Foods raises $8.8m series B as it gears up to open new plant
Solar Foods uses carbon dioxide and hydrogen instead of sugars to feed its bacteria... By Elaine Watson
Entobel opens largest insect protein production facility in Asia, targets aquaculture
The new site is "the world’s most CAPEX-efficient BSF production facility," claims the firm... By Elaine Watson
Plus, sugar refiner Nordzucker will invest more than $100m into plant-based proteins... By Jennifer Marston
Interviews, opinions and analysis
By Jennifer Marston
By Elaine Watson
Investment in data integration is crucial for companies in the agricultural supply chain
By guest contributor Peter Leppan
In case you missed it
Motif FoodWorks CEO departs as firm ‘refocuses priorities’ and creates ‘leaner organizational structure’ Exclusive!
By Elaine Watson
Letter on the way to the desert via MEASA
By Louisa Burwood-Taylor
By Jennifer Marston
🎥 What makes a great pitch? What raises alarm bells? Agrifoodtech investors weigh in…
By Elaine Watson
What we're reading
Insiders say Eat Just is in big financial trouble
WIRED
Plant-based dairy Miyoko's Creamery is raising funds, preparing for potential sale
Bloomberg
Q&A with CEO of Verdant Robotics, Gabe Sibley AgFunder portfolio co!
Successful Farming
Can food and agriculture companies raise their game?
Bain & Co
World facing ‘hellish’ 3C of climate heating, UN warns before Cop28
The Guardian
More Americans on Ozempic means smaller plates at Thanksgiving
Bloomberg
AgFunder research
2023 Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report New!
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2023 India AgriFoodTech Investment Report
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2023 Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report
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AgFunderNews
AgFunderNews reports on the evolution of the global food and agriculture system. By going beyond the headlines, we analyse the people, companies and technologies aiming to improve human and planetary health. Publishing daily news, 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 Inc, one of the world’s most active agrifoodtech venture capital firms.
A lot of agrifoodtech founders in this dry capital environment are "beating their heads against the wall with the conviction that the wall will break before their heads do,” observes Paul Shapiro at The Better Meat Co. "That said, deals are still getting done, and important technology is still being developed." Many investors got their fingers burned in the heady days of 2020-22 by throwing silly money at this space, points out Magi Richani at molecular farming co Alpine Bio. But the problems...
If you've been following the Chinese drones saga, it finally came to a conclusion of sorts this week as the US Congress passed a defense spending bill that did not, in the end, block the activities of ag spray drone market leader DJI. But there was a catch, reports Elaine Watson... Meanwhile, Brazilian early-stage investor SP Ventures chatted with us about the ups and downs of raising its new fund in a challenging economic environment. Elsewhere, we quizzed food and ag leaders on what tech...
Greetings from London, where the AgFunderNews team has spent the week at the World Agri-Tech and Future Food-Tech summits delving into everything from the disconnect between regulatory and commercial timetables for novel foods and ag biologicals to ongoing questions over how to fund the transition to regenerative agriculture. As for cultivated meat, with private capital increasingly hard to come by, "There's a valley of death we're not going to cross as an industry without a massive infusion...