FoodTech Weekly #205 by Daniel S. Ruben

FoodTech Weekly #205

Hi there,

DigitalFoodLab has put together some data showing that FoodTech startups globally have raised $7.3B so far in 2024, up 20% vs. the same period last year (H1 2023):

It’s been driven by a handful of mega-deals especially in cloud kitchens and quick delivery (e.g. $700M in Wonder and $665M in Zepto). AgBiotech is another category doing well, but alternative protein companies have continued to struggle in terms of attracting funding. All insights from DigitalFoodLab here.

It should be noted that AgFunder just released data showing that AgriFoodTech startups globally have raised $7B across 427 deals so far in 2024, which they say is a decline from the $8B invested across 934 deals during H1 2024.

This week's rundown:

• ByBug of Chile scores $1.4M; aims to use bugs instead of precision fermentation to produce valuable ingredients

• Tall Grass Ventures of Canada closes $32M CAD to invest in local, early-stage FoodTech/Agtech startups

• Japan’s government finally makes floppy disks obsolete

Let's go!

Conversations

Noteworthy

• Brazilian AgTech startup Genica has banked 68M reais (about $12.5M) from e.g. Mitsubishi Agrex and Banco do Brasil for its biological crop treatments that also help improve soil health.

• ByBug of Chile has scooped up a $1.4M Seed round from Südlich Capital, Arpegio VC, GRIDX, Halcyon Venture Partners, and Atento Capital. The company aims to produce recombinant proteins from genetically engineered black soldier flies, which it claims is cheaper and more scalable than using precision fermentation.

• Danish startup MATR Foods, which develops plant-based meat alternatives using traditional fungal fermentation techniques, has received an investment from Novo Holdings. The sum is said to be double digit in DKK millions, meaning at least $1.4M.

• French AgTech startup Seabex has hauled in a Seed round backed by Water Unite Impact; the company uses AI and satellites to optimize water usage.

• Also from France, The VERY Food Co has bagged €850K (appr. $920K) for its functional plant-based food ingredients aimed at replacing animal products. The round was backed by e.g. Apok Invest, Bpifrance, and business angels. The VERY Food Co has previously received investment from Big Idea Ventures.

• Boston, U.S. startup Foray Bioscience has landed $3M in Seed funding from ReGen Ventures, The Engine Ventures, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Understorey Ventures, Superorganism, and others. The company has developed a predictive plant cell culture platform, allowing it to grow harvest-free plant-based materials, seeds, and molecules.

• Vanetta Foods of Galicia, Spain, which produces plant-based alternatives to meat, has closed a €400K (appr. $430K) funding round, mostly from local business angels.

• U.S. startup Prism has developed a controlled atmosphere container that can be stored in restaurants’ walk-in fridges, allowing restaurants to extend shelf life of produce by 2-3x (and sometimes up to 8x as long).

• Tall Grass Ventures of Calgary, Canada has secured $32M CAD (appr. US $23.5M) for its first fund that will invest in early-stage AgTech and FoodTech companies, mainly in Canada.

• MIT has designed a robotic system designed to e.g. pack groceries, and it looks pretty cool.

• Wild salmon is struggling in the Baltic, because it can’t find enough Baltic herring to feed on, as Baltic herring gets scooped up by industrial trawlers to be ground up and become fish feed — for farmed Norwegian salmon.

News from the FoodTech Weekly community

• Apply by July 30, 2024 for Bezos Earth Fund’s $100M AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge. The first round of awards will focus on sustainable proteins, power grid optimization, and biodiversity conservation. Only U.S-based 501c3 non-profits and global academic institutions are eligible. If you’re a for-profit corporation, you can collaborate with one of the above-mentioned institutions on a proposal.

• Cultivated Biosciences (Switzerland) is hiring for several roles, including for that of a People & Operations Associate/Manager.

• Synthesis Capital, Boston Consulting Group and GFI just released a new report titled ‘What the Alternative Protein Industry Can Learn from EV Companies’.

• Looking for a beautiful, modern light-filled office space in the heart of vibrant Hackney Wick (London)? Nearby Better Dairy + Notpla, 3 min walk to the Overground, 125.4 sq m at £3,666 per month, available now. For more info, email Ahrum Pak of Win-Win here.

• The NatureTech Memos has written a great 4 minute read on rice — especially how to decarbonize it.

• Taste Like, an advanced ingredient intelligence and alternative protein product comparison directory, for sustainable and functional food developers is seeking partnerships and data access agreements to enhance its AI-driven value proposition using their comprehensive dataset. The database features categorized data on e.g. 1,200+ plant-based and fermentation-based CPG/FMCG products, 200+ ingredients, 17 allergens, comparison data on macronutrients and ingredients, and much more. Contact Maya Pritsker Ben Ami via email for more info.

Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.

Random Stuff

• Daily multivitamin use has shown no association with lower risk of death (including from cancer and heart disease), a new research study has found. It tracked almost 400K participants over 20 years.

• Rouge Soleil sends a box of coffee samples and goodies every two to three months to consumers; each box is linked to an episode of the Rouge Soleil podcast, which focuses on a specific theme related to roasting — so that consumers can listen and taste simultaneously. The first box addresses the defects in roasting specialty coffee (h/t: Marie Dollé).

• A driverless Waymo was pulled over by the Phoenix police department for driving on the wrong side of the road (2 min video).

• The Japanese government has finally managed to get rid of floppy disks. Their next target? The fax machine.

• What competitive eating does to the body.

• Just like humans, bats, and whales, young goats have been found to pick up accents from each other, adjusting their vocal sounds to fit into a new social group.

​I love you.
Daniel

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This issue was produced while listening to Don’t Be So Shy - Filatov & Karas Remix by Imany, Filatov & Karas. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Did your brilliant friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

Disclosures: I'm founder of Solvable Syndicate. I’m an operating advisor to VC/investment firms Nordic FoodTech VC, Mudcake, and Blume Equity. I'm a mentor at accelerators Katapult Ocean, Big Idea Ventures, and Norrsken Accelerator. I'm an advisor to BIOMILQ, FoodHack, Hooked, Ignitia, Improvin, IRRIOT, Juicy Marbles, Lupinta, NitroCapt, Oceanium, petgood, Rootically, Stockeld Dreamery, Transship, VEAT, and Volta Greentech; in some of these startups, I have equity.

Boring disclaimer: The newsletter content is intended only to provide general and preliminary information to folks interested in FoodTech, and shall not be construed as the basis for any investment decision or strategy. I assume no liability in regards to any investment, divestment, or retention decision taken by readers of this newsletter content.