Among this week’s largest funding rounds in agrifoodtech was the $100 million raised by India’s Absolute Foods, which is seeking to vertically integrate the ag value chain. Mashgin, a US maker of contactless self-checkout machines, also scored big; as did forest-focused carbon credits portal Pachama.
Foodtech funding
🇺🇸 Brightseed bags $68 million Series B funding from Temasek, AgFunder, and others to launch ingredients business. The San Francisco-based nutrient discovery startup will commercially launch its first ingredient to be designated ‘generally recognized as safe’ under US Food & Drug Administration rules. (AFN) [disclosure: AgFunder is AFN‘s parent company.]
🇺🇸 “Touchless” checkout maker Mashgin raises $62.5 million. NEA led the round, which values Mashgin — a provider of checkout tech to retailers, grocers, and convenience stores — at a reported $1.5 billion. (Grocery Dive)
🇫🇷 Sencrop closes $18 million Series B round to go global with its ag weather stations. The round was led by Jerusalem Venture Partners. EU-backed EIT Food, Stellar Impact, IRD Management, BPIfrance, Demeter IM, and NCI Waterstart also invested. (AFN)
🇺🇸 Tomorrow Farms lands $8.5 million to develop healthier pantry and refrigerator staples. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital with participation from Maveron, Valor Siren Ventures, Simple Food Ventures, and SV Angel. (AFN)
🇬🇧 Lollipop lands £5 million ($6.11 million) in seed round led by Octopus Ventures. Its app, targeted at working families, combines meal planning, shopping, and cooking services. (Tech.eu)
🇺🇸 3D-printing plant-based protein, Mooji Meats raises $3 million. Good Startup, Collaborative Fund, Lever VC, and AgFunder particpated in the Y Combinator grad’s seed round. (TechCrunch) [disclosure: AgFunder is AFN‘s parent company.]
🇮🇲🇨🇳 Agronomics backs CellX again. The Isle of Man-based agrifoodtech investor pumped a further $2 million into the Chinese cultivated meat startup, giving it a 5.1% stake on a fully diluted basis. (Morningstar)
🇮🇳 Retail tech startup NutriTap raises $1.5 million in funding from Venture Catalysts, others. It’ll use the funds to augment its in-house technology, invest in R&D, and grow its presence across sectors and geographies. NutriTap builds “alternate retail channels” for brands to conduct direct-to-customer retail, including via ‘smart kiosks.’ (The Economic Times)
Agtech funding
🇮🇳 Absolute Foods raises $100 million in round led by Sequoia Capital, Alpha Wave, and Tiger Global. The startup — which aims to integrate the whole agricultural value chain — will use the funding to grow its bioscience research capabilities, farm software, and trading platform. (The Plunge Daily)
🇺🇸 Pachama nets $55 million Series B funding to bring accountability to forest carbon markets. The San Francisco-based carbon credits platform secured investment from Future Positive, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, LowerCarbon Capital, Plus Capital, 20VC, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, and celebrity couple Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi. (AFN)
🇦🇺 Grain management platform AgriDigital raises A$25 million ($17.7 million). CEO Emma Weston told AFN that the startup will use the funds to “grow our supply chain finance fund and drive our global expansion with key partners.” (AFN)
Other news
🇸🇬 Good Startup closes investment fund on $34 million. Good Protein Fund I is a “cross-border, multi-stage” vehicle, the firm said in a statement. Since launching last year, Good Startup has backed the likes of Eat Just, The Every Company, TurtleTree, and Mooji Meats (see above), among others. (Good Startup)
🇬🇧 Grocery giant Tesco launches accelerator program in partnership with World Wildlife Fund. The accelerator pairs startups with the retailer’s suppliers to “fast-track sustainability innovation in the supply chain […], cut the environmental impact of food, and support UK food security.” (Tesco)
🇸🇬 Glife Technologies pursues multiple M&As to expand its farm-to-table ecosystem in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-based startup has invested in Vietnamese counterpart Koina and acquired controlling stakes in Indonesia’s PanenID and Malaysia’s Yolek in recent weeks. (AFN)
🇺🇸🇿🇦 Corteva invests in Africa and Middle East seed treatment facility. The agribusiness major’s new Center for Seed Applied Technologies in Rosslyn, South Africa, will focus on recipe development and safety testing of chemical and biological treatments. (AFN)
