AgriFood Tech: Summer Funding and Major Developments

While summertime typically sees a decrease in funding rounds, the agrifood tech sector is buzzing with a variety of activities. Notably, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation is making headlines for its investment in women-led climate startups across Africa, in partnership with Gather Ventures.

In other news, Just Egg has made its debut in the UK market, vertical farming innovator Aerofarms secured additional funding, and former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler has filed a citizen petition urging the FDA to reconsider the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status of various common food ingredients, such as high-fructose corn syrup and maltodextrin.

Recent Funding Announcements

Here are some noteworthy funding successes in the sector:

• 🇺🇸 BioConsortia secures $15M to scale its nitrogen-fixing seed treatment product New Ag International
• 🇺🇸 Soil health analytics startup TerraBlaster closes oversubscribed $4M pre-seed round AgTech Navigator
• 🇪🇬 Suplyd raises $2 million pre-Series A to develop next-gen restaurant infrastructure Wamda
• 🇬🇧 Better Nature raises $1.5M to compete with chicken through tempeh Green Queen
• 🇸🇪 Flox raises nearly $1M to promote human-wildlife coexistence Tech.eu
• 🇺🇸 Nomura backs Terviva to enhance SAF feedstocks and support reforestation Protein Production Technology
• 🇺🇸 AeroFarms raises equity for pre-construction activities on its second farm Business Wire

Funds, Grants & Accelerators

A few significant investments and grants have emerged:

• 🇰🇪 Rihanna-backed fund aims to uplift women-led climate startups in Africa Tech in Africa
• 🇬🇧 Cambridge Innovation Capital announces £100M commitment to University of Cambridge spinouts Tech.eu
• 🇺🇸 Atlantic Fish Co. secures over $300K NSF grant Alt-Meat
• 🇺🇸 MAVRK Capital Inc. announces closure of its second fund iGrow News
• 🇺🇸 A new $50 million fund is established for climate risk adaptation and resilience Climateworks

People Movements in AgriFood Tech

Significant changes in leadership have been reported:

• 🇺🇸 Lindberg confirmed as the USDA’s top trade official Agri Pulse
• 🇺🇸 Switch Bioworks expands its leadership team PR Newswire

Other Relevant News and Developments

Additional noteworthy happenings in the agri-food tech space include:

• 🇺🇸 Former FDA chief supports a new initiative against processed food New York Times
• 🇺🇸 US senators call on the FDA to ban misleading dairy-like terms on plant-based labels Green Queen
• 🇳🇱 Albert Heijn is the first global supermarket to disclose methane emissions Vegconomist
• 🇺🇸 Juicy Marbles & Friends introduce whole-cut plant-based salmon Plant Based News
• 🇺🇸 John Deere unveils a digital self-repair tool for $195 per tractor AgWeb
• 🇺🇸 Funding for precision agriculture experiences a 71% increase, surpassing ag biotech for the first time since 2017: PitchBook AgFunderNews
• 🇺🇸 Advancing Eco Agriculture launches the first AI chatbot for regenerative agronomy Crop Life
• 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 Cargill’s initial victory in the erythritol anti-dumping case against China may have unintended consequences

AgFunderNews

• 🇮🇳 🇬🇧 Cropin selects the UK for a €700k AI and regenerative agriculture potato project AgReads
• 🇬🇧 Deliveroo reports losses driven by DoorDash acquisition UK Tech News
• 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 Bayer endeavors to mitigate glyphosate litigation significantly by the end of 2026 AgFunderNews
• 🇺🇸 Beyond Meat appoints a chief transformation officer and reduces workforce in light of another challenging quarter AgFunderNews
• 🇬🇧 Just Egg successfully launches in the UK through Ocado The Grocer