The Week in AgriFoodTech: Major Funding Rounds and Strategic Partnerships
Agriculture-focused fintech startup Maalexi has successfully secured funding this week, paving the way to scale its operations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Concurrently, conversational AI startup Vox AI has attracted capital aimed at enhancing its technology for restaurant drive-thrus.
In notable merger and acquisition news, beverage giant Keurig Dr. Pepper has acquired coffee chain Peet’s for a staggering $18 billion. Meanwhile, food delivery innovator Just Eat Takeaway.com has teamed up with robotics company RIVR to pilot stair-climbing robots designed to enhance food delivery efficiency. Adding to the week’s excitement, the University of California has announced the upcoming 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge.
Funding News
🇦🇪 Maalexi secures $20 million shariah-compliant facility from Amwal Capital Wamda
🇯🇵 Fermelanta nets $13.6 million to engineer microbes for complex plant metabolite production AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 NuCicer raises $11.5M to expand high-protein chickpea production Sacramento Inno
🇳🇱 Vox AI Secures $8.7M to bring voice AI to drive-thru operations Tech.eu
🇮🇳 Indian firm Wastelink raises $3M to boost animal feed supply Tech in Asia
🇳🇱 Dutch hospitality tech startup Toppi secures nearly €1 million to scale AI solutions for hospitality businesses EU Startups
🇮🇳 D2C grocery startup Anmasa raises $1.1 million in pre-seed funding Economic Times
M&A, IPOs & Partnerships
🇯🇵 🇸🇬 IntegriCulture Inc. and Umami Bioworks announce strategic partnership to co-develop novel cosmetics using fish cell culture technology Integriculture [Disclosure: AgFunderNews’ parent company AgFunder is an investor in IntegriCulture.]
🇺🇸 Peet’s Coffee parent company sold for $18 billion to Keurig Dr. Pepper Los Angeles Times
🇺🇸 John Deere makes another high-value crop automation play with GUSS acquisition AgFunderNews
🇬🇧 🇳🇱 Just Eat Takeaway.com partners with RIVR to pilot stair-climbing Physical AI food delivery robots in Zürich Silicon Canals
Funds, Grants & Accelerators
🇩🇰 Danish retailer Salling launches $78 million startup fund Global Venturing
🇺🇸 Registration opens for 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge UCANR
🇺🇸 Taylor Geospatial Institute launches $2M Innovation Challenge for Food Security iGrow News
People News
🇺🇸 Biotech leader Dr. Pamela Marrone joins Better Meat Co. board of directors Vegconomist
🇺🇸 ArkeaBio names Synbio Pioneer Zach Serber CTO ArkeaBio
🇫🇷 Danone overhauls leadership structure for ‘greater focus and agility’ Food Dive
Other News
🇺🇸 Horizon Organic quietly ditches ‘carbon positive’ goal; pursues new insetting strategy AgFunderNews
🇸🇬 Olam shutters digital farmer services platform Jiva citing ‘challenging’ times; 606 employees impacted AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Trump revokes Biden order targeting food system consolidation Civil Eats
🇺🇸 State of Kansas and Kelly Hills unmanned systems unveil RAMP: pioneering autonomous tractor operations on public roads Kelly Hills
🇺🇸 CPG co-manufacturing platform Rescale folds a year after $2.3 million seed round AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 General Mills invests $54 million in expansion of James Ford Bell Technical Center Yahoo Finance
🇬🇧 CellRev collapses amid lab-grown meat funding challenges FDI Forum
🇨🇦 Legacy plant protein brand Yves Veggie Cuisine is being discontinued – and people are mad Green Queen
The post The Week in AgriFoodTech: Maalexi, Vox AI raise funds, Keurig Dr. Pepper buys Peet’s, 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge first appeared on AgFunderNews.
