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.
What next for virtual fencing? The crop robotics landscape, Pymwymic's playbook, Agri-health at World Agri-Tech, Impossible Foods' UK retail debut, Next-gen inoculants, Sound Agriculture
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, Jenn took a deep dive into virtual fencing, while Elaine and Louisa headed to London for World Agri-Tech and Future Food-Tech to discuss everything from GLP-1s to green ammonia, next-gen fruit harvesting 'bots and Cargill's open innovation strategy. Elsewhere, Impossible Foods made its UK retail debut... without its signature heme protein ingredient. Plus:
And finally, xFarm Technologies explains how its recent acquisition of Sibium Analytics is helping it create the definitive data layer for agriculture. Have a great week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine Virtual fencing is no longer hype. Now it has to prove itself a trustworthy tool Is virtual fencing “the new barbed wire” or just another overhyped sector? Jennifer Marston 🎥 Agrifood VC needs a different playbook, says Pymwymic In agrifoodtech investing, says Rogier Pieterse, is it time to stop shooting for the stars and instead aim for the moon, and consistently land there? Elaine Watson 🎥 What is agrihealth—and can it become an investable category? The First Thirty makes the case Falling costs in genomics, sensing and AI are making it easier to connect data across soil, plants, and animals to human health, says Antony Yousefian. Elaine Watson Exclusive: Lilac Agriculture raises $2.3m to tackle inoculants’ ‘black box’ problem The funding will help Lilac Ag advance a platform built to optimize two traits at once: nitrogen-fixing efficiency and competitiveness. Elaine Watson The Mixing Bowl says it’s still ‘early days’ for crop robotics but AI, M&A are driving advancement Harvest remains one of the most challenging categories in terms of both technical capabilities and scaling. .Jennifer Marston ‘Bring us your difficult trait problems’: Biographica, Hudson River partner on crop genome editing The collaboration combines Biographica’s platform for identifying high-value gene targets and Hudson River’s expertise in gene-editing. Elaine Watson Impossible Foods makes UK retail debut at Tesco… without its flagship heme protein Despite recent progress the firm is still waiting for regulatory clearance in the UK and the EU for its signature ingredient. Elaine Watson Sound Agriculture launches seed-applied biological to preserve yields on high ammonia corn acres The new product added an average of six bushels per acre and increased yield at 11 of 12 test sites in 2025 field trials. Jennifer Marston Plus: The 'first new mode of action in biologicals in 20 years' Jennifer Marston The deal enhances xFarm’s existing supply chain intelligence solutions and opens the door to the sugarcane and biofuel industries. Sponsored post "The opportunity to acquire this fermentation equipment, at this cost, is a game changer for Ayana Bio," says CEO Frank Jaksch. Elaine Watson Exclusive: Spearhead Bio lands oversubscribed seed round for faster, more precise gene editing tech The tech can save seed breeders "years of development time and millions of dollars in crop improvement," claims the firm. Jennifer Marston 🎥 TRIC Robotics scales to 1,500 strawberry acres with 15-robot fleet TRIC Robotics deploys a fleet of autonomous robots that apply UV-C light to tackle mites, mildew, and mold, coupled with bug vacuums. Elaine Watson
Tevel's flying robots pick fruit that's too high or too risky for people - Featuring Tevel! CTech
Alternatives to milk are losing moomentum The Economist Fertilizer: Navigating a volatile phosphorus and potassium market in 2027 CropLife Op-ed: Here’s what California’s paraquat ban means for the future of pesticide policy Civil Eats Kroger’s AI focus is on ‘flexibility and control,’ digital chief says Grocery Dive 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 Intern (field ops & customer success, California) Aerobotics (California, US) Biomanufacturing, homogenization and clarification specialist Future Fields (Edmonton, Canada) Chinova Bioworks (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada) Associate director, regulatory operations Faeth Therapeutics (Austin, Texas, US) Production planning and inventory control Eratani (Indramayu, Indonesia) Solinftec (Canada) Varaha (Gurgaon, India) ♥️ 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: 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...
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...