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.
David hits back in Epogee lawsuit, new player in GLP-1 arena, Rootwave's $15m raise, Amplifye supercharges protein digestion
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The big news this week: Defendants in a high-profile lawsuit alleging David Protein acquired alt-fat maker Epogee to “exclude competitors and create an artificial monopoly” have hit back in court papers filed today. “What plaintiffs are trying to dress up as an antitrust... suit is nothing but a case of bad business planning” says David. "They brought it on themselves." Elsewhere, Israeli startup Lembas emerged from stealth promising to help Big Food ride the GLP-1 wave and Amplifye debuted an enzyme claimed to supercharge protein digestion and unlock new health benefits. Finally, Rootwave raised $15m to expand its autonomous weeding platform, Planet Tracker warned that a lack of data and transparency in the tuna supply chain puts investors at risk, and Aerbio shared some key challenges around making protein from thin air. Have a great weekend! Louisa, Elaine, Jenn, and Samuele ❤️ AgFunder and agrifoodtech? The waitlist for AgFunder's Fund V opens soon “What plaintiffs are trying to dress up as an antitrust monopolization suit is nothing but a case of bad business planning – failing to secure long term supply contracts for an ingredient that they now say is important to their food business,” claims David Protein. Elaine Watson ‘Pharma is eating Big Food’s lunch…’ Lembas fights back with GLP-1 boosting peptide "Let's say you wake up really hungry," says Lembas CTO Dr. Zohar Barbash. "You take the peptide and you feel like you have eaten a steak and you are not hungry for six hours." Elaine Watson Exclusive: RootWave bags $15m to expand its autonomous weeding platform to Europe, US RootWave says it's technology is competitive with conventional herbicides when it comes to eradicating weeds. Jennifer Marston Amplifye debuts enzyme to supercharge protein digestion and unlock new health benefits “Our fundamental message is to unlock the optimal nutritional benefit in every gram of protein you consume,” says CEO John Melo. Elaine Watson Phytoform and Corteva partner on AI to boost disease resistance in corn The Phytoform CRE.AI.TIVE platform can identify small changes to DNA sequences in plants that could bring beneficial impacts. Jennifer Marston Investors ‘must demand full disclosure’ of supply chain data from the world’s top tuna firms: report Murky data across the global tuna supply chain poses risks for investors and profits, says a new report from Planet Tracker. Jennifer Marston Foodtech VC activity ‘slowed significantly’ in Q1, says Pitchbook Foodtech VC activity slowed significantly in Q1, with $1.4 billion invested across 202 deals—a quarter-over-quarter decline of 49.6% in capital and 15.1% in deal count, says Pitchbook. Elaine Watson TransCap Initiative and 20 companies will design a financial platform that can deploy multiple types of capital across the regen ag space. Jennifer Marston GLP-1 drugs are rewriting America’s food preferences, says IFF: ‘GLP-1s alter taste perception’ “GLP-1 drugs alter taste perception… and commonly disrupt the perception of sweetness, bitterness, fatty foods and even mouthfeel," says IFF. Elaine Watson The Week in AgriFoodTech: Coco Robotics bags $80m, Tastewise secures $50m, Tebi raises $34m Plus: Cibus closes $27.5m public offering, InSoil & Key Carbon announce a $114m partnership. Samuele Gabbio Gas fermentation: the future of sustainable protein, or hot air? In conversation with Aerbio On paper, making protein from thin air instead of purified sugars sounds enticing. In practice, startups in the gas fermentation space face multiple challenges. But at scale, Aerbio will be able to compete on price with all high-quality protein ingredients, says its CTO. Elaine Watson BiomEdit CEO: Next gen designer probiotics will disrupt the animal and human health market BiomEdit's first product—a pair of genetically engineered microbes designed to protect broiler chickens from necrotic enteritis—could secure the regulatory green light by Q4, 2026. Elaine Watson Why Fargo’s 701x acquired Digital Beef: ‘There are more things ranchers want then just GPS tracking’ Fargo, North Dakota-based 701x may have started life as a company making simple GPS tracking tags for livestock, but its founders quickly learned there are many more problems around the ranch such technology could solve. Jennifer Marston Nile has built an online marketplace enabling farmers to trade transparently and at a lower cost, while limiting the amount of food waste through the supply chain Jennifer Marston Guest article: Tariffs, heat, and high stakes… how grain buyers can stay one step ahead in 2025 Grain buyers already have to navigate climate change and lower yields. Now, tariffs are making every procurement decision harder. By guest contributor Will Kletter Data Dive: Can Finland sustain 2024 funding levels and become a true food innovation hub? Finland raised $390m in agrifoodtech funding in 2024, surpassing Japan, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and Israel, although a megadeal for aquaculture startup Finnforel accounted for a sizable chunk ($259.8m) of the total sum raised. Samuele Gabbio Acadian Plant Health seaweed-based biostimulants boost crop quality, field trials reveal New field trial data from Mexico and Brazil suggests that seaweed-derived biostimulants could offer farmers a path to both higher yields and improved crop quality – a critical combination as the industry grapples with climate challenges and market demands for premium produce. Sponsored post In a lawsuit filed in New York, OWN Your Hunger, Lighten Up Foods, and Defiant Foods allege that David has been stockpiling supplies of EPG "to exclude competitors and create an artificial monopoly.” Elaine Watson "We still believe in the potential of gas fermentation," says one investor. "Arkeon’s techno-economics and those of other gas fermentation companies demonstrate that it is a viable production method for the food industry when at scale." Elaine Watson How Latin America is moving from a pioneer to a powerhouse in agricultural biologicals VC investment into Latin America ag biologicals startups grew more than 2,000% between 2020 and 2024—and is still climbing. Jenn Marston New report accuses Big Food of ‘corporate greenwashing.’ Danone and Nestlé hit back Big food companies overstate their climate progress by relying on carbon removals and failing to cut emissions at source, claims a new report. Elaine Watson Land for growing coffee, wheat and beans could be halved by 2100 FoodNavigator A maelstrom of disruption is coming – from AI to GLP-1s The Grocer If You Want To Make A Difference (and a living), Please Don't Start Another Food Brand Substack Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired The Guardian What counts as an ultraprocessed food? The New York Times Amazon prepares to test humanoid robots for delivering packages The Information The canned-food aisle is getting squeezed by rising steel tariffs Wall Street Journal Exclusive: Earth Foundry halves climate fund target to $50M Axios Ethics of blended meat: Compromise or catalyst for change? ‘I tried The £6 vegan pork everyone is talking about’ Featuring Juicy Marbles Plant Based News Startup helps farmers grow plant-based feed and fertilizer using wastewater Featuring FYTO The Good Men Project How Faeth Therapeutics brings precision nutrition to women’s cancers Featuring Faeth Therapeutics Femtech Insider 2025 Developing Markets AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2025 Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2024 Asia Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2024 Africa AgriFoodTech Investment Report 10 years in agrifoodtech: our exclusive 83-page e-zine! 2024 India AgriFoodTech Investment Report Climate Capital: Financing Adaptation Pathways for Smallholder Farmers Business development manager Aerobotics (Griffith, New South Wales) Institutional communication analyst Solinftec (Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil) Full stack engineer - new grad Lumi AI (Toronto, Canada) Senior materials specialist, tanning and finishing MycoWorks (Barcelona, Spain) Klim (Berlin, Germany) Financial and business operations manager, Mexico GreenLight Biosciences (Mexico City, Mexico) Intelligent Growth Solutions (Edinburgh, Scotland) ♥️ our newsletter? 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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.
It's been another big week for ag robotics, with fresh funds for autonomous mushroom harvester 4AG Robotics and TRIC Robotics, which has a fleet of 'bots armed with UV-C light and bug vacuums roaming California's strawberry fields. On a more depressing note, UK-based vertical farmer Vertical Future was put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, while Belgian startup FlyBlast, which engineers black soldier flies to produce high-value proteins, filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, with new data...
The big news this week? Two high-profile alt protein startups have called it quits, with Planetarians blaming a "mismatch between the capital intensity required to scale breakthrough manufacturing innovation and the current investor appetite for foodtech" and NovoNutrients blaming the "shifting investment climate.” Both hope their tech finds a new home, however. Planetarians founder Aleh Manchuliantsau insists that "We’re specifically seeking acquirers who will actively utilize and develop...
Everyone has a pet theory about what's gone wrong for alt meat. It's too processed, too expensive, too different from meat... or not different enough. But we may be missing the elephant in the room, claims ex-TiNDLE exec Andre Menezes. “The fundamental issue is that there is no real underlying consumer demand to shift away from meat. If the price is right and consumers like the product, they don’t care if they are destroying the Earth.” So what does this mean for TiNDLE and the broader alt...