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 sued over Epogee deal, Arkeon insolvent, Latam ag bio in focus, Wildtype gets FDA green light, SiFly aims high, Nestlé refutes greenwashing claims... and does regen ag pay off?
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The big news this week: Just days after announcing a whopping $75m Series A round and acquiring a supplier of one of its key ingredients (novel fat EPG), protein bar brand David has been hit with a lawsuit from brands using EPG who say they can no longer secure supplies. Meanwhile, Arkeon, one of a flurry of startups in the gas fermentation space making 'protein from air,' has filed for insolvency. Elsewhere, Wildtype secured a green light from the FDA to sell its cultivated salmon and a new report claimed regenerative ag is “not only viable but already superior in most contexts” to conventional agriculture, while Jenn Marston took a deep dive into the 50-year-old evolution of ag biologicals in Latin America. Finally, can SiFly—which emerged from stealth last week with drones it says behave more like helicopters—upend the ag spray drone market? Elaine Watson caught up with CBO Logan Jones to get the lowdown. Have a great weekend! Louisa, Elaine, Jenn, and Samuele ❤️ AgFunder and agrifoodtech? The waitlist for AgFunder's Fund V opens soon 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 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 FDA clears Wildtype’s cell-cultivated salmon for US debut Wildtype will be the first to launch cultivated seafood in the US after securing an FDA ‘no questions’ letter regarding the safety of its cell cultured salmon. Elaine Watson Japanese gov’t agency JICA invests in Brazilian digital banking platform Agrolend Agrolend helps small- and medium-sized farmers in Brazil bypass many of the bureaucratic barriers that would normally stand in their way when it comes to obtaining much-needed credit. Jennifer Marston Nordic Foodtech VC announces first close of second fund at $45m: ‘We're not hunting for unicorns' "I get a slight allergic reaction when somebody says they are going to come in and ‘disrupt’ or ‘revolutionize’ the industry," says Dr. Lauri Reuter. Elaine Watson "Pioneering farmers practicing regenerating forms of agriculture can produce relatively only 2% less yields and similar incomes," notes EARA. Jennifer Marston Enifer partners with ethanol giant FS for mycoprotein production in Brazil Enifer's biomass fermentation process to produce mycoprotein "offers an alternative, higher value route to valorizing thin stillage" from corn ethanol production, claims the startup. Elaine Watson Treefera raises $30m to bring more transparency to the supply chain's 'first mile' with AI New funds will aid product development for Treefera's platform that provides insights into the critical "first mile" of the supply chain. Jennifer Marston New owners of Merit plant: ‘Our intent is not to start it back up again as a plant protein business’ Ryan Bracken is "looking forward to repurposing the Merit Functional Foods facility into a positive economic engine for Manitoba." Elaine Watson Perfect Day urges court to toss deceptive marketing lawsuit over animal-free dairy No reasonable consumer would believe that Perfect Day’s alleged conduct constitutes an unfair trade practice," argues the startup. Elaine Watson Plus: Switzerland's Jua raises $11 million for climate forecasting, Japan's Wada FoodTech bags $5 million for "hot chain" foodtech. Samuele Gabbio 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 Faster, further, longer: Can SiFly upend the ag spray drone market? "The quality of laydown and the ability to vary it, is going to be a game changer in agriculture," claims SiFly's Logan Jones. Elaine Watson BioPrime: ‘The world is moving towards a place where synthetic and biologicals will be integrated’ “If you had asked me how farmers viewed this space five or six years ago, many had an extreme distrust of anything biological," says Dr. Renuka Diwan at BioPrime. "In five years, the situation has completely changed." Elaine Watson 🎥 What is holding back the bioeconomy? In conversation with Boston Bioprocess CEO Dr. Michael Tai A disconnect between upstream and downstream work continues to hold back progress in biomanufacturing, claims the CEO of Boston Bioprocess. Elaine Watson Data Dive: Brazil's agrifoodtech funding grows 32% in Q1 2025 after meager 2024 performance VC investment levels into Brazilian agrifoodtech startups remain well above pre-pandemic numbers and hint at recovery. Samuele Gabbio By the numbers: agriculture’s resource-intensive reality (and possible solutions) RA Capital and The Nature Conservancy aim to make agriculture's scale and impact—both positive and negative—"impossible to ignore." Jennifer Marston Guest article: Why we created a playbook for smarter agrifoodtech VC in Latin America Early-stage innovation in food systems can deliver both impact and returns, but only by adapting to the sector’s unique regional realities. By guest contributor Beatriz Ponce de Leon David is on track to generate revenues of $140m in year one, says founder Peter Rahal. “That probably makes us one of the fastest growing food brands in history.” Elaine Watson "I like opportunities that are huge in both financial impact and environmental impact," says Heraud. Jennifer Marston Cocoa, minus the beans: California Cultured plans launch in 2026 Using re-usable plastic bioreactors rather than pricey steel tanks could make the unit economics of plant cell culture far more favorable, claims CEO Alan Perlstein. Elaine Watson P&G’s CIO Seth Cohen shares a blueprint for leading with technology Forbes Trump vowed to help US farmers. These four say his policies are ‘wreaking havoc’ The Guardian Why regenerative agriculture (still) isn't a climate solution Sentient White House MAHA Report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say Washington Post Who runs ‘MAHA’? Inside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s inner circle as health secretary. Boston Globe How five false beliefs created a vacuum of opportunity in CPG Substack ESG is dead. The $1.6 trillion fund just proved it Substack Everything you know about the Dietary Guidelines is wrong Civil Eats Re-centering the “farming” in vertical farming with Paul Gauthier LinkedIn, Henry Gordon Smith DeHaat acquires NEERX to boost real-time agri intelligence Featuring DeHaat! India Entrepreneur Engineering efficiencies in vertical farming: a whole-systems approach Featuring IGS! Verticalfarm Daily 2025 Developing Markets AgriFoodTech Investment Report NEW! 2025 Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report NEW! 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 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) Hoxton Farms (London, UK) Business development manager, Egypt Aerobotics (Cairo, Egypt/remote) Senior software development analyst Solinftec (remote) Sales development, carbon credits 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 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...