​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 defeat—after another grim quarter.

Plus:

• Financing carbon capture: Chestnut Carbon’s playbook​
• A new way to finance regen ag: Cairnspring Mills' new model​
• Casein, without cows: Standing Ovation nets $34m​
• Beyond glyphosate: Quercus Bio and Bindbridge on next-gen solutions
• Biomanufacturing’s valley of death: 21^st Bio on how to cross it​
• Molecular farming: Could it unlock more affordable HMOs?​

And finally... can digital twins speed up crop development? We caught up with Brad Zamft at Heritable Ag to get the lowdown.

Have a fantastic week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine

And a big thanks to our sponsors:

​NC farmer weighs in as Persian Gulf fertilizer crisis widens: ‘You will see a massive decline in yield and acres’​

“Most of the farmers I met and spoke with over the last month are not secured for their spring fertilizer,” says Russell Hedrick. Elaine Watson

​Beyond Meat bets on beverages as alt meat sales slide 19.7% in Q4: ‘We believe we can be disruptive and win’​

"We're relying on the fact that Beyond is a very well-known brand, so we don't have to kind of reinvent the wheel,” says Ethan Brown. Elaine Watson

​Inside Cairnspring Mill’s bold new model for financing regenerative food systems​

The one-of-a-kind model gathers trial ownership, mission-driven investors, public funding, and community dollars into a single capital stack. Jennifer Marston

The Future Food & Agriculture Leadership Program, developed by INSEAD in partnership with Agrohub, is for senior executives across agrifood. Designed for leaders already operating at scale, the program prepares participants to take on CEO, COO, and board-level roles by strengthening strategic thinking, enterprise-wide decision-making, and succession readiness.

The program combines advanced leadership development with insights into global market dynamics, digital transformation, and sustainability, while fostering a high-level international peer network.

​Applications are now open until June 1. To learn more, contact program manager Bogdan Popovich at bp@agrohub.org​

​Standing Ovation nets $34m, gears up for US launch of casein via precision fermentation​

The funds will accelerate commercialization in North America in 2026 before expansion into Europe and Asia in late 2027. Elaine Watson

🎥Beyond glyphosate: Quercus Bio targets weeds with designer proteins​

Designer proteins could account for half of the crop protection market within the next 10-15 years, predicts Dr. Jon Lightner. Elaine Watson

🎥 Bindbridge taps targeted protein degradation to ‘unlock a new toolbox’ for the crop protection industry​

In the first instance, Bindbridge is looking to develop a new broad spectrum non specific herbicide that can replace glyphosate. Elaine Watson

🎥 Digital twins: Heritable Ag combines AI, genomics and environmental data to slash R&D timelines​

Theoretical physicist turned agtech entrepreneur Brad Zamft is on a mission to make plant breeding faster and cheaper. Elaine Watson

​AgriFood Signals: Circulate Capital closes $220m fund, All G GRAS approval, Unilever & McCormick​

Plus: Fyteko and Agrilife partner to boost biostimulants. Jennifer Marston

​How Chestnut Carbon built a blueprint for financing carbon-capture projects​

Financing nature-based projects is all about focusing on similarities to more traditional asset classes, says the firm. Jennifer Marston

🎥 21st Bio on strains, scale, and the valley of death: Fixing precision fermentation’s weak links​

Can tiny biological production factories ever give petrochemicals or animals a run for their money? 21st Bio weighs in. Elaine Watson

🎥Totality Biosciences bets on plants to scale human milk oligosaccharides for a wider audience​

Several firms now use microbes to produce HMOs for infant formula. But could producing them in plants unlock a broader audience? Elaine Watson

​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

​Persian Gulf fertilizer crisis: Global food prices could rise 12-18% by the end of 2026, warns Helios AI​

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

🎥 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

Have your say on the future of EU agrifoodtech investment​
​

🇪🇺 AgFunder is partnering with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group to produce the first comprehensive European Agrifoodtech Investment Report to inform how EU funding could be allocated through 2034.

Share your insights in our 10-minute survey. We're examining capital gaps, scaling barriers, and what support mechanisms would make the biggest difference. All participants will receive early access to report findings.

• If you're an investor ​click here​
• If you're an entrepreneur or startup​ click here​

If you're an accelerator, policy maker, or ecosystem builder, select the survey above that best matches your primary perspective on the market.

The survey closes on April 22, 2026. Your input is confidential and will only be reported in aggregate, or we will ask permission to quote you.

​Britain’s food supply ‘at risk of catastrophic failure by 2030’​

The Times

​Precision ag adoption forecasts have been wrong for 20 years, landmark study finds​

AgTechNavigator

​Could the Strait of Hormuz supply shock boost regenerative farming?​

Ingredients Network

​England has shown the world how to replace farm subsidies​

The Economist

​How Aigen transformed agricultural robotics for sustainable farming with Amazon SageMaker AI - Featuring Aigen!

Amazon AWS

​Integriculture and Oisix ra daichi partner to joint develop Niigata-Branded cell-based foods - Featuring IntegriCulture!

FoovoBridge

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​

​>>More AgFunder research​

​Research technician (open call)​

Resurrect Bio (London, UK)

​Field agronomist, Indramayu​

Eratani (Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia)

​Senior account executive​

Klim (Berlin, Germany)

​Sales manager, poultry​

Phagos (Le Mans, France)

​Quality assurance manager​

GreenLight Biosciences (Rochester, New York, US)

​Biotech QC lead​

Future Fields (Alberta, Canada)

​Senior backend engineer​

Aerobotics (Cape Town, South Africa)

♥️ our newsletter? Forward to a friend or subscribe here​