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.
Is agrifood ready for a cyberattack? Ag drone market “in flux,” Job cuts at UK Agri-Tech Centre, Onego Bio loses food fight with EVERY, ‘Updatable’ biopesticides, regenerative forestry, salt-tolerant crops
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: With AI and digital tools more prevalent than ever in ag, it's critical to take action on cybersecurity threats already here, says Jenn. Elsewhere, 10 months after the FCC’s bombshell decision to ban sales of new models of foreign made drones in the US, the US ag spray drone market is “very much in flux," experts tell Elaine. Plus:
And finally… OlsAro—a startup on a mission to “enable farming on unfarmable land”—bags $5.5m to advance its climate smart crops. Have a great week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine It’s time to take action on cybersecurity in agrifood This week, hackers forced up temperature in freezers and fridges at several hundred French supermarkets, causing food spoilage and fires. Jennifer Marston US spray drone market “very much in flux” as firms attempt to navigate evolving landscape, says ASDC The challenge has been compounded by a recent FCC proposal that could ban sales of existing foreign-made drones as well as new models. Elaine Watson UK Agri-Tech Centre to slash workforce by 60% in strategic pivot The move is “not a cost-cutting exercise" but reflects a shift to a new operating model, says its chief engagement officer. Elaine Watson The EVERY Co prevails in legal spat with Onego Bio Despite having its case tossed, Onego Bio said the ruling was in fact good news, as it provided “clarity.” Elaine Watson Exclusive: Yara Growth Ventures backs soil-sensing startup Stenon as fertilizer prices surge Yara takes a minority stake in nitrogen intelligence company Stenon with the second close of the latter's Series B. Jennifer Marston 🎥 ClimateCrop bets on starch ‘off switch’ to improve crop performance ClimateCrop is targeting a molecular brake on starch production that it claims helps crops store more energy during the day. Elaine Watson Molagri raises $5.8m to build 'updatable' biopesticides “Farmers shouldn’t have to worry about resistance, the same way you don’t worry which flu strain is going around when you get a flu shot." Elaine Watson Switch Bio partners with Bayer to advance ‘switchable’ tech for biofertilizers Switch engineers its microbes to first compete with the native soil microbiome and establish themselves before a genetic switch turns on that triggers ammonia production. Elaine Watson SLM Partners secures $167m from Dutch pension investor to regenerate forests The investment represents SLM Silva Fund II's first and final close. Jennifer Marston OlsAro raises $5.5m seed round as salt-tolerant wheat nears market- AgFunder portfolio co! OlsAro is on a mission to “enable farming on unfarmable land." Elaine Watson PerPlant lands Valtra deal to put its AI crop sensor on tractors straight from the factory PerPlant says farmers using its system have cut input use by 40% to 87%, depending on the implement. Jennifer Marston AgriFood Signals: India's Scimplify nets $25m, Deere funds food security, USDA funds seed research Plus: Australia approves lab-grown duck. Jennifer Marston Twiga’s demise underscores the need for new financing models in African agrifoodtech “Technology can lower transaction and information costs; it cannot eliminate the physical economics of a tomato ot banana moving through a fragmented market.” Jennifer Marston Could GLP-1 drugs finally put a price on crop nutrient density? With the rise of GLP-1 drugs, food companies may begin to compete on a 'nutrition per calorie' basis, predicts Deep Science Ventures. Elaine Watson 🎥 Can Picker AgRobotics’ Dr Octopus-style arms finally crack autonomous fruit harvesting? "There's no gripper," says Yossi Rosenblum. "We just approach the fruit, cut the stem, and let the fruit roll through the [hollow] arm." Elaine Watson
DeHaat: Sowing the seeds of success - Featuring DeHaat! Fortune India CFIN unveils winners of 2026 Foodtech Frontier Awards, 40 innovators strengthening food supply chains at home and abroad - Featuring Chinova Bioworks! StreetInsider
Yellowdish, the fertile Cavendish breeding line PR Newswire Beyond crop scouting: how AI-powered drones could reshape precision agriculture AgriBusiness Global Ahold Delhaize experiencing cybersecurity issue Grocery Dive Crop protection is unbundling. Nobody is bidding for discovery China's food industry: From capturing past dividends to creating future value Rabobank Could GLP-1 drugs be anti-aging medications? CNN America’s favorite fruit is being bruised by the Iran war The New York Times The Guardian 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 Senior agronomic development analyst Solinftec (Sinop, Brazil) SAYeTECH (Ejisu, Ghana) Associate, growth & business development Varaha (Gurgaon, India) Embedded software development analyst Solinftec (Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil) Eratani (Indonesia) Director/senior director, drug safety and pharmacovigilance Faeth Therapeutics (remote) Intern, lab technician, microbiology Phagos (Suresnes, France) ♥️ 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 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: If lack of fit-for-purpose manufacturing capacity was a critical bottleneck for next-gen precision fermented ingredients, why is Liberation Bio struggling to raise the funds to get its Indiana facility over the finish line? Elsewhere, robotics hit the headlines as Kodama raised $7m to scale physical AI for forestry,...
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: What went wrong at Kenyan ag marketplace Twiga? Poor execution, high operating costs, or a flawed business model? Elsewhere, with the rise of GLP-1s, will food companies begin to compete on a “nutrition per calorie” basis? Plus: Regen organic: Can it make crops ‘measurably more nutritious?' Ag robotics: Picker's Dr...
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. AI is all over agtech now, but farmers need field-level context and better interoperability to make these tools useful. Jenn spoke with Farmers Business Network about its plans to build agriculture's "first AI context engine" with Google to deliver this. Plus: Foodtech 2.0: FOOD FOUNDERS' next two startups Cultivated meat: Believer...