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's next for US ag drones? UPSIDE Foods' new venture, Ag's great repricing, Can AI find the next stevia? Planetary health 101, Saga Robotics bets big on US vineyards
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 happens when a market built on foreign tech is told it must go domestic, almost overnight? Elaine Watson explores what’s next for the US ag drone sector. Elsewhere, as world leaders assemble in Davos at a time many are backsliding on ESG, Jenn Marston asks: What is planetary health, and why does it matter for the global economy, and Mark Brooks addresses ag's "great repricing." Plus: - Beyond cultivated meat? UPSIDE Foods to spin off new life sciences business - Structural color: A novel approach to replacing titanium dioxide? - Can AI find the next stevia? 2nd Nature mines ag side streams And finally… Can AI shift agriculture "from assumption-driven decisions to outcome-driven" ones? Phospholutions CEO Hunter Swisher weighs in. Have a fantastic week! Louisa, Jenn, and Elaine. And a big thanks to this week's sponsor: Made in America: FCC decision sparks scramble to localize ag spray drone production What happens when a market built on foreign tech is told it must go domestic—almost overnight? Elaine Watson "The legacy approach to cell culture media is outdated, inefficient, and expensive," says the firm. Elaine Watson Guest article: Agriculture’s great repricing: beyond the downcycle The irony is that what frustrates short-term capital is what makes agriculture one of the most resilient and mispriced systems in the global economy. Guest contributor Mark Brooks AI can shift agriculture "from assumption-driven decisions to outcome-driven ones," says CEO Hunter Swisher. Jennifer Marston During the 2025 California wine grape season, the firm increased treated acreage tenfold and expects to nearly triple it again in 2026. Elaine Watson Brazilian ag giant SLC Agricola scales use of unmanned crop sprayers with Pyka ‘The ability to spray at night is probably the single largest value proposition,’ says Pyka CEO Michael Norcia. Elaine Watson 2nd Nature mines ag side streams for next-gen sweeteners with AI The startup will launch its first products for commercial sampling this quarter: non-caloric natural sweeteners and umami flavor enhancers. Elaine Watson Can structural color replace titanium dioxide in food? Mirra bets on the butterfly effect The whitening agent has been banned in food sold in the EU since 2022, and many US firms are under pressure to remove it. Elaine Watson 'If planetary boundaries are the guardrails, soil is the road itself': in conversation with Holganix Chief strategy officer Tim Weaver explains the critical role soil plays in crop production, boardrooms, and balance sheets. Jennifer Marston Planetary health 101: what it is, why it matters for the future of the global economy Climate-driven health risks could cost the global economy $1.5 trillion in lost productivity by 2050, says the WEF. Jennifer Marston AgriFood Signals: Yield Energy launches farm-based grid platform, new $500m farmland fund Plus: Gates Foundation funds AI pilot for coffee farmers. Jennifer Marston Why more food and beverage giants are flocking to Missouri A central location, diverse commodities, and a business-friendly environment draw more corporates to the Show-Me State. Sponsored post Grow faster from the heart of the USAgribusinesses, food companies, and agtech innovators gain a powerful advantage in Missouri, with access to one of the nation’s most robust agriculture ecosystems, specialized talent and world class research institutions, and some of the lowest business costs in the US. See how Missouri can support your plans. The challenge is finding microbial hosts that will both protect the dsRNA and produce it cost effectively in high amounts, says the firm. Elaine Watson What it actually takes to become 'regenerative organic'—even if you've been doing it for a century Lundberg Family Farms' focus on soil health, conservation, and organic growing stretches all the way back to the 1930s. Jennifer Marston New human clinical study puts botanicals into the GLP-1 spotlight The research has generated interest from firms in food & supplements as consumers seek natural alternatives to GLP-1 drugs. Elaine Watson
Beyond Meat’s new protein drink feels like a cry for help Substack Opinion | The world is adjusting to an unreliable United States Washington Post For the world’s food supply, federal funding cuts have long-term impacts New York Times The glyphosate problem in regenerative agriculture Can we save wine from wildfires? New Yorker ‘Trade chaos hurts farmers,’ Tariff turmoil upends planning for 2026 growing season AgTechNavigator The NYT's pro-big ag pundit gets it right on manure, but misses the mark on herbicides Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future We’ve never understood how hunger works. That might be about to change. MIT Technology Review
HwyHaul marks 7 years with AI-powered leap toward autonomous freight - Featuring Hwy Haul! Freight Waves Agritech companies in India with supply chai solutions - Featuring DeHaat! Business Connect 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 Phagos (Suresnes, France) Klim (Berlin, Germany) Process development specialist Future Fields (Edmonton, Canada) GreenLight Biosciences (Pacific Northwest, US) Cromatic (San Francisco, California, US) Business development manager, Peru Aerobotics (remote/Lima, Peru) Junior solutions development analyst Solinftec (Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil) 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 big news this week… A flurry of carbon removal megadeals from Microsoft, which teamed up with Indigo for soil carbon removal, Varaha for biochar, and Rubicon Carbon for forestry. Elsewhere… a cash injection for biopesticide startup SenseUP, which is tackling the twin challenges of cost and stability in RNAi-based crop protection....
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 big news this week: New US Dietary Guidelines recommend a near-doubling of the current protein RDA and debut a redesigned food pyramid emphasizing animal-based sources. It's prompted a flurry of debate over how this squares with advice to limit saturated fat. "Highly processed" foods, meanwhile, are off the menu. What this means in...
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. 2025 was meant to be the year agrifoodtech found its footing again. Instead, it turned into something messier: a year of recalibration, retrenchment, and some very public reality checks. Funding fell further than many expected, some high-profile companies stumbled or collapsed, and long-standing assumptions about consumer demand,...