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.
Leaps By Bayer invests in ag autonomy, a new class of fungicide chemistry, farmers skeptical about AI
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: Mancozeb has been the backbone of fungicide resistance management for 60 years, but now it's becoming another crop-protection controversy. Matt Crisp and the team at Ichor Ag explain how a new class of chemistry they've developed could solve both problems at once. Plus:
Keep on truckin'. Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine Ichor's novel mode of action comes as the fungicide pipeline thins, resistance increases, and regulators are tighten the rules. Jennifer Marston Leaps By Bayer backs Sabanto to bring ‘practical autonomy to more farms’ Retrofitting existing tractors lowers the cost of adopting autonomy for cash- and labor-strapped farmers, says Sabanto. Jennifer Marston Rize lands $31m to help rice farmers cut methane emissions, water usage Rice paddies represent some 10–12% of global methane emissions, largely due to conventional cultivation techniques. Jennifer Marston Many growers still find ‘no meaningful benefit’ from AI use on the farm: survey Forty-two percent of farmers cite high input costs the biggest constraint to improving their farm's financial health. Jennifer Marston AgriFood Signals: Uber’s $14.8bn bid for Delivery Hero, Hippo Harvest banks $30m, agentic AI for ag Plus: US lawmakers target 'lab-grown' butter. Jennifer Marston Indiana's BioHeartland: a New Identity for a Bioscience Powerhouse As Indiana competes for the next generation of bioscience jobs, companies and innovation, leaders across industry, academia and economic development are coming together around a unified identity for the region’s powerful bioscience ecosystem. BioHeartland is designed to elevate the state's leadership across human, animal and plant science. Learn more here. Report card from California: Farmers and investors need more education on ag biologicals Dr. Pam Marrone highlights "steady progress" for the ag biologicals market despite economic uncertainty. Jennifer Marston The wizard, the prophet, and the case for regenerative agriculture Regenerative approaches are not about retreating from technology but using it to amplify living ecosystems. AgFunderNews guest contributor Rob Appleby Olam Agri on what it takes to build self-reliant food systems across Africa Food security relies on not just agricultural production but also on logistics, policy, and private-sector investment. John Njiraini
$7 million to grow Canada’s agriculture tech sector - Featuring Chinova Bioworks FSA and FSS issue fresh guidance on cultivated meat applications and novel food trials - Featuring Hoxton Farms
Sooner or later, a pivot from glyphosate will be needed No-Till Farmer The diet that could remake modern agriculture Cornell Chronicle Why is private equity interested in food? Food Navigator Cow manure could be the next data center fuel Grist OroraTech’s hellenic fire system achieves first light over Greece less than a month after launch Bloomberg IQM Quantum Computers acquires selected assets of Quantistry Silicon Republic 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 Future Fields (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) Faeth Therapeutics (remote) Grant & Project Management Intern – Naples 3Bee (Hybrid - Naples, Campania, Italy) [MOC HOA] Aquaculture Technical Support Specialist, Lab Tepbac (Hamlet 2, Moc Hoa Commune, Tay Ninh) Agronomist – Digital Agronomy & Farmer Validation (all genders) 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 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, Elaine caught up with David Protein founder Peter Rahal after his $250m Series B and took a deep dive into ag robotics at Reservoir Farms to learn how startups are starting to build more flexible 'bots, more quickly. Elsewhere, Jenn quizzed PepsiCo on how to support the next generation of farmers. Plus: David Protein: Medici...
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, UPSIDE Foods terminated its $50 million bid for Believer Meats' US cultivated meat facility but says it “remains interested” in the site. Elsewhere, TerraBlaster—a startup using tech first deployed on the Mars rover to determine levels of key nutrients in the soil—raised a $12.5 million seed round as it gears up for...
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: Single-cell protein has attracted growing interest as an efficient way to produce protein, but many startups have struggled to scale. dsm-firmenich is betting that an optimized yeast strain, low-cost feedstocks, and superior yield and productivity can close the gap. Elsewhere, gene editing is rapidly expanding beyond row...