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.
Insect ag recalibrates after brutal shakeout. Halter's $220m E round. Fertilizer... without Haber-Bosch? AI-polished pitch decks. 'Zombie' startups.
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.
The insect ag industry is littered with the corpses of startups who found out the hard way that scaling biological systems is not as easy as it looks, prompting a wave of think pieces suggesting its days are numbered. Despite the sector’s well-publicized struggles, however, its death may well have been exaggerated say key stakeholders. Elsewhere, were the crisis in the Persian Gulf to end tomorrow, global food prices could still rise 12-18% above pre-crisis levels by the end of 2026, says Helios AI. 'If you’re a procurement manager today, the whole world is on fire.” Plus:
And finally... we caught up with Adam Bergman at EcoTech Capital to discuss the prospects of “zombie” startups that have been propped up by investors over the past couple of years in the vain hope that things might get better... Have a fantastic week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine Insect ag recalibrates after a brutal shakeout: Where are the key players now? "The European-only model for BSFL production faces nearly insurmountable structural challenges," claims nextProtein. Elaine Watson Multiple countries restricted key food exports in 2022, with conditions ripe for this to happen again in 2026, says the firm. Elaine Watson Halter says it's not an agtech company on the heels of $220m Series E raise Virtual fencing systems like those of Halter are about much more than simply replacing physical infrastructure on the ranch. Jennifer Marston “If your answers and pitch decks are so obviously generated by AI, that's a problem," says SOSV's Pae Wu. Elaine Watson 🎥 Future Food-Tech: Big ideas, hard truths, and the path to scale We spoke to key stakeholders on everything from biomanufacturing’s valley of death to the IFT's new AI-powered R&D platform. Elaine Watson 🎥 The good, the bad, and the ugly of agrifoodtech investing… in conversation with Adam Bergman Get ready for a wave of bankruptcies, restructurings, and fire sales in agrifoodtech in 2026, says Bergman. Elaine Watson South Korea says ‘AI is no longer a choice’ as agrifoodtech funding jumps 171% The country aims to make AI more accessible to growers of all sizes in addition to expanding biotech ambitions. Jennifer Marston UC Davis launches Food & Health Angels to back foodtech startups as GLP-1 ‘tsunami’ approaches FH Angels invests in early-stage companies that apply science, data, and tech to improve metabolic health, performance, and longevity. Elaine Watson Private equity in agtech: disciplined, selective, and increasingly hard to ignore Unpacking Verdant's exit readiness checklist: from proof of repeatable ROI and validated unit economics to a proprietary dataset. Louisa Burwood-Taylor SMEY’s Lipid Atlas taps yeast diversity + AI for custom oils via fermentation AI can predict whether a yeast strain can produce oil and what the composition of that oil is likely to be, based on genomic data. Elaine Watson Plus: Brightseed unveils discovery platform for plant bioactives. Jennifer Marston Why Agmatix and Growers built ‘the Palantir of agriculture’ The pair takes messy, disconnected data, clean it, put it into a common language, and add context to create actionable insights. Sponsored post Guest article: Tech now exists to decouple fertilizer from oil and gas markets "The war in Iran offers another example of why we must decentralize fertilizer production." By guest contributors Dr. Amit Roy and Dr. Nicolas Pinkowski Guest article: Food's fossil reckoning; energy crises are the new normal, and food is next The food system is, once again, discovering that it runs on oil. By guest contributor Johan Jörgensen How Lumi AI helps CPGs find ‘multi-million-dollar opportunities’ hidden in their supply chain data - AgFunder portfolio co! Lumi AI is on a mission to "democratize" the process of gleaning insights from supply chain data for CPGs and food manufacturers. Jennifer Marston How to make regenerative agriculture ‘financially legible’ for agrifood corporates - AgFunder portfolio co! Soil degradation is a major P&L problem impacting yield, pricing, and supply, says Klim CEO Robert Gerlach. Jennifer Marston
Have your say on the future of EU agrifoodtech investment
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NEW REPORT! Agrifoodtech funding is flat but the story is shifting
Agrifoodtech is not going to produce a banner funding year in 2026, but the composition of capital continues to shift in ways that matter. Jennifer Marston
Dutch insect ag firm Protix shifts focus to Asia: ‘We could be cost competitive there from day one’
"Our new strategy is buy and build in Asia,” says CEO Maiko van der Meer. "It’s just much more cost effective." Elaine Watson
🎥 Ag’s new toolkit: AI, genomics, and robotics converge at World Agri-Tech
New tech is reshaping agriculture, compressing R&D timelines, boosting yields, and unlocking new modes of action in crop protection. Elaine Watson
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How the Iran war is disrupting the food supply chain
Bloomberg
The Iran war’s other energy shortage—food
Wall Street Journal
Shifting tastes, shrinking sales: Napa Valley’s wineries adapt amid ‘shocking’ downturn
The Guardian
‘Physical AI’ in agriculture: real technical shift or just a new label for ag robotics?
Better Bioeconomy
The 2026 European deeptech report: sector reaches $690B as VC share hits record
Tech.eu
The weather is getting wilder, and some see a dire signal in the data
The New York Times
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DeHaat launches NHB-supported grapes cluster development program - Featuring DeHaat!
Punekar News
The growth of robotics and AI use in agriculture - Featuring Solinftec!
American Ag Network
Brightseed unveils enterprise AI platform to connect ingredient discovery, validation, and commercialization - Featuring Brightseed!
Nutritional Outlook
NEW! 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
GreenLight Biosciences (Rochester, New York, US)
Future Fields (Alberta, Canada)
Aerobotics (Cape Town, South Africa)
Resurrect Bio (Norwich, UK)
Eratani (Karawang, West Java)
Varaha (Andhra, Visakhapatnam, India)
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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: Anxiety is mounting over the ripple effects of the war with Iran, with experts warning that while domestic energy production may offer some buffer, it won’t shield US farmers, food companies, or consumers from global price shocks. Elsewhere, Beyond Meat says its foray into beverages is a logical move—and not an admission of...
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: Anxiety is mounting over the ripple effects of the war with Iran, with experts warning that while domestic energy production may offer some buffer, it won’t shield US farmers, food companies, or consumers from global price shocks. Elsewhere, Beyond Meat says its foray into beverages is a logical move—and not an admission of...
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. The insect ag industry is littered with the corpses of startups who found out the hard way that scaling biological systems is not as easy as it looks, prompting a wave of think pieces suggesting its days are numbered. Despite the sector’s well-publicized struggles, however, its death may well have been exaggerated say key stakeholders....