This Week in AgriTech: Partnerships Dominate Amid Slow Fundraises
This week saw a notable slowdown in fundraising activities, giving way to a flurry of partnership announcements across the agri-tech sector. Significant collaborations included Air New Zealand’s investment in My Native Forest, Corteva’s partnership with Profluent Bio, and DoorDash teaming up with Serve Robotics, among others.
In the News
In regulatory developments, the European Parliament is backing a controversial ban on terms like “steak,” “sausage,” and “burger” in the plant-based meat sector. Additionally, Tyson and Cargill have been ordered to make a hefty price-fixing settlement, while color manufacturers are pushing back against a ban on synthetic food dyes in West Virginia.
Funding News
🇫🇷 France-based Phagos has successfully secured $29 million to further the development of its antibiotic alternative for livestock. Source: AgFunderNews
🇨🇦 Vive Crop Protection has raised $10 million to accelerate its Canadian ag tech initiatives. Source: Real Agriculture
🇦🇪 Aydi has closed a $7.5 million seed round to launch its AI agronomy assistant. Source: Wamda
🇮🇱 Emerging from stealth, Asterix Foods has raised $4.2 million to pioneer the ‘second wave’ of animal-free proteins using plant cell culture. Source: AgFunderNews
M&As, IPOs & Partnerships
🇳🇿 Air New Zealand has made a significant investment in nature-based carbon credits. Source: Carbon Herald
🇺🇸 Corteva has partnered with Profluent Bio to enhance gene editing tools. Source: AgTech Navigator
🇺🇸 🇳🇱 Gowan Company has acquired Ceradis, expanding its reach in agri-tech. Source: Pymwymic
🇺🇸 Chestnut Carbon has joined forces with Funga to boost forest restoration efforts. Source: C Carbon
🇺🇸 🇧🇬 Checkerspot is teaming up with Huvepharma to produce human milk fat analogs at scale. Source: AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Bayer has partnered with Cornfed Farms to establish the first ForwardFarm in the Midwest. Source: American Ag Network
🇺🇸 Serve Robotics has formed a partnership with DoorDash in Los Angeles. Source: Restaurant Dive
🇺🇸 InSoil and Anew Climate are collaborating to market over 500,000 verified soil carbon removals in Lithuania. Source: Yahoo Finance
People Moves
🇺🇸 PepsiCo announced the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer. Source: PR Newswire
🇺🇸 Driscoll’s has named Brie Reiter Smith as its new Vice Chair. Source: Business Wire
🇺🇸 Climax Foods has rebranded as Bettani Farms and appointed a new CEO to focus on scalable, profitable markets. Source: AgFunderNews
🇮🇳 Zepto has appointed a new HR executive. Source: Deal Street Asia
Other News
🇺🇸 Farmers Business Network is the latest company to announce a spin-off, following in the footsteps of Corteva and Kraft Heinz. Source: AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Windfall Bio has begun construction on a methane-to-value demonstration plant in Houston. Source: Yahoo Finance
🇺🇸 Evolv has launched a peptide targeting GLP-1 receptors as a new category of biomimetics emerges. Source: AgFunderNews
🇺🇸 Tyson and Cargill will pay $87.5 million as part of a record beef price-fixing settlement. Source: Ag Daily
🇪🇺 The EU Parliament is moving forward with a ban on ‘veggie burger’ labeling for plant-based meat products. Source: Green Queen
🇺🇸 Color manufacturers are filing a lawsuit against a ban on artificial dyes in West Virginia. Source: Food Dive
