The AgFunder research team is currently enjoying some well-earned R-and-R amid the festive frivolities; but come the new year, we’ll be back at the data coalface as we set to work on our upcoming global investment report for 2021.
The annual AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report contains the world’s most comprehensive breakdown of global foodtech and agtech investment trends for the past year.
We still have masses of data to sort through in advance of our 2021 report coming out during Q1 2022, and we’re still collecting data points from various sources.
Nevertheless, in the Christmas spirit, we’re going to give you a sneak-peak. Below, you’ll find a rundown of the (tentative) top 20 agrifoodtech funding deals of 2021.
Before you read on, a few caveats: please note that what follows is a list of separate, disclosed rounds or tranches of private funding. However, agrifoodtech companies that closed multiple rounds or tranches during the year are listed once, with all their deals or tranches outlined together as a single entry. The list includes only completed, publicly-disclosed agrifoodtech funding deals recorded and confirmed by the AgFunder research team as of 29 December.
Once again, this is a tentative list: if you feel that we’ve missed out any funding deals, please feel free to contact us and submit any data you may have.
Here are 2021’s top 20 funding deals:
1. Furong Xingsheng (China) – A ‘group-buying’ platform which allows consumers to team up and collectively buy groceries in bulk — creating efficiencies both for the consumers themselves, and for farmers and food producers — Xingsheng raised a reported $2 billion from investors including Sequoia Capital, Tencent, KKR, and Temasek in February.
2. Lineage Logistics (US) – Michigan-based warehousing, cold chain, and distribution company Lineage banked a bumper $1.9 billion from private equity investors in March.
3. Swiggy (India) – The Bengaluru-based food delivery app closed two of the top 20 largest foodtech funding deals globally this year: $800 million for the first tranche of its Series D in April, and a further $1.25 billion in July for the second tranche.
4. Gorillas (Germany) – This Berlin-based grocery delivery app banked just shy of $1 billion for its September Series C round, which saw participation from Delivery Hero, Coatue Management, and Tencent, among others.
5. Flink (Germany) – Claiming to offer 10-minute doorstep delivery of groceries, Flink — which launched late last year — netted $750 million for its Series B round earlier this month. US delivery player DoorDash was the lead investor.
6. Nice Tuan (China) – Also known as Shi Hui Tuan, the group-buying app for farm produce raised $750 million in a March funding round co-led by Alibaba and DST Global.
7. Picnic (Netherlands) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust led the €600 million ($707 million) Series D investment into this Amsterdam-based e-grocery platform.
8. Dingdong Maicai (China) – An e-commerce platform for fresh produce, Dingdong banked $700 million for the first tranche of its Series D round in April, which was co-led by Coatue and DST Global. Two months later it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, raising a lower-than-expected $95.7 million.
9. Trax (Singapore) – Southeast Asia’s highest-funded agrifoodtech startup in 2019, the retail tech firm raised $640 million for its April Series E round, which was co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund II and BlackRock.
10. Nuro (US) – This maker of autonomous delivery vehicles raised $600 million for its Series D round involving investors such as Google and grocery giant Kroger.
11. Getir (Turkey) – The on-demand delivery service — another which aims to drop off grocery orders to customers within 10 minutes — closed a $555 million funding round in June at a valuation of $7.5 billion.
12. Wolt (Finland) – The Helsinki-based food delivery app raised $530 million in a round led by ICONIQ Growth back in January. Last month it agreed to be acquired by US counterpart DoorDash in a deal worth $8.1 billion.
13. Glovo (Spain) – This Barcelona-based food delivery and dark store operator raised €450 million ($528 million) in Series F funding in March. Luxor Capital Group and Delivery Hero were among the participating investors.
14. Impossible Foods (US) – Plant-based patty pioneer Impossible secured $500 million in a November funding round led by existing investor Mirae Asset Global Investments.
15. Rappi (Colombia) – T. Rowe Price led the on-demand delivery app’s $500 million round in July, valuing it at $5.25 billion.
16. Pivot Bio (US) – The ag biotech startup, which offers an alternative to traditional fertilizers by ‘programming’ microbes in the soil to produce more nitrogen, raised $430 million in July in a Series D round led by DCVC and Temasek.
17. Kitopi (UAE) – In July, the Dubai cloud kitchen and food delivery startup scored $415 million in Series C funding from investors including Softbank‘s Vision Fund II, B. Riley, Chimera Investment, Doğuş Group, Next Play Capital, Nordstar, and ADQ‘s DisruptAD.
18. Perfect Day (US) – Berkeley, California-based Perfect Day uses genetically modified microflora to produce proteins found in cow’s milk via fermentation. It raised $350 million for its Series D round in September, which was led by Temasek and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
19. Nature’s Fynd (US) – The Chicago-headquartered company bagged $350 million for its Softbank-led Series C raise in July. It creates meat analogs through microbial fermentation.
20. Dutchie (US) – Based in Bend, Oregon, the e-commerce platform for cannabis consumers and dispensaries scored $350 million in an October funding round which reportedly valued the company at $3.75 billion.
