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- FoodTech Weekly #91 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #91 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
March 18, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #91
Hi there,
I read a lot of newsletters. And one that I really appreciate is OttoMate. It covers all things robots as it comes to food; restaurant robots, ag robots, drones, smart vending machines -- you get the idea. OttoMate is run by Chris Albrecht, the former Editor-in-Chief of The Spoon. I asked nicely and got a 14-day free trial for full access to OttoMate, for all FoodTech Weekly readers (when using that signup link). There's also a free tier.
A small correction: Last week, I mentioned SuperMeat's recent funding round. I should clarify that the $15M investment is part of a larger round (at a $175M pre-money valuation).
This week's rundown:
It's a bear market: Bear Robotics banks $81M for autonomous restaurant server robots
Thirst quencher: SupPlant raises $27M for solution that enables plants to tell farmers when they're thirsty
To bee or not to bee: MeliBio secures $5.7M Seed round to produce real honey, without bees
Let's go!
Conversations
I got 1-2 exciting convos coming up -- stay tuned!
Noteworthy
Restaurant robotics startup Bear Robotics has secured a $81M Series B round. The company makes server robots that help e.g. deliver food to tables in restaurants, and has shipped 5,000+ robots so far. Here's a 1 min video of the robot in action. Bear Robotics says it wants to augment rather than replace human waitstaffs.
Israel alt seafood startup Plantish has raised a $12.5M Seed round. The company develops plant-based salmon filets, and plans to start selling in restaurants in 2023. The round was led by State of Mind Ventures and supported by e.g. Unovis, TechAviv Founder Partners, E2JDJ, FoodHack Syndicate, and OurCrowd, as well as celebrity chef José Andrés and famous Arab-Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin (of Nas Daily). Plantish now plans to scale up production.
Image: Plantish
Vence, a U.S. startup that develops 'virtual fencing' for ranchers using regenerative agriculture practices, has received 'a few million dollars' in funding (adding to the the earlier $12M Series A round) from the VC arms of Merck & Co and Shell. Vence fits wearable collars to cattle, which enables ranchers to rotationally graze their herds without using physical fences. Another company to watch in this space is Nofence of Norway.
Israeli AgTech startup SupPlant has raked in $27M in fresh funding. The company deploys sensors in the deep soil, the shallow soil, the trunk, the leaf, and the fruit. It then collects measurement data every half-hour, and alerts the farmer if the plant is under extreme stress from e.g. insufficient water supply. The farmers can then provide the plants with the exact amount of water needed -- and this, in turn, increases yields. SupPlant has also released a sensorless solution which it hopes to bring to one million farmers in India and Africa during 2022.
California-based MeliBio has scored a $5.7M Seed round, led by Astanor Ventures. MeliBio uses precision fermentation to produce (what the company, and blind testers, say is) real honey, without bees. I spoke with MeliBio's Co-Founder and CEO Darko Mandich back in October 2020 for FoodTech Weekly #23.
Image: MeliBio
Perfeggt of Berlin, which develops plant-based eggs, has been fois gras'd a bit more, bringing its total pre-seed round to $4M.
Stämm Biotech (which despite the somewhat IKEA-esque name is based in Argentina) has scooped up a $17M Series A round. The company develops desktop-sized bioreactors. The company hopes to replace the traditional large stainless steel tanks with small tanks that enable self-contained, self-perpetuating production processes, e.g. for the cultivated meat industry
Tender Food of Massachusetts has landed a $12M round, backed by e.g. Lowercarbon Capital, Natalie Portman, and Unovis. The company can produce plant-based fibrous muscle tissue, which enables realistic plant-based meat products. Tender plans to launch products next year.
Image source: Tender
More news from 'The Spirit of America' state (Massachusetts): Mori has bagged a $50M Series B round. The company uses salt, water, and heat to extract protein from silk, which is then applied to food to protect that food from spoilage. Led by Prelude Ventures, the round was also joined by e.g. Acre Venture Partners, Closed Loop Partners, and Collaborative Fund.
Israeli-Dutch controlled environment agriculture company Future Crops has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by Chinese corporation Tencent. In a statement sent to FoodTech Weekly, Future Crops says this is the first close of a 'very significant A round'. The company recentlybanked a $30M Seed round.
CarbonPlan has launched an interactive online tool for exploring the global potential and costs of farming seaweed for climate benefits (explainer here). It looks pretty cool:
Image: CarbonPlan
Bayer, a major supplier of crop inputs to farmers in Russia, has suspended investments in that country, and made deliveries for the 2023 growing season contingent on Russia 'returning to a path of international diplomacy and peace.'
In 2021, Sri Lanka ordered the country's 2 million farmers to go organic, banning the importation of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Faced with drastically falling yields on key crops like rice and tea, the government has now called off the experiment.
Last year, corporate VC funds invested $7.7B in FoodTech startups, in 600 deals (so about 19% of all investments made), according to Dealroom.
Image: Dealroom
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Revo Foods (Austria) is looking for a CFO... Wildtype (US) is hiring a Director of Finance... Oatly (remote) is recruiting a Sustainability LCA Specialist... Phytoform (UK) has a number of open positions... Cultivated Biosciences(Switzerland) is hiring for two positions... Chromologics (Denmark) wants to bring on a Business Development Analyst... Google (US) is hiring a Food Program Manager... Motatos (UK) is recruting a Marketing Manager UK.
E Tipu 2022: The Boma Agri Summit is taking place on 21-22 June in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand (as well as through a virtual experience). Two days of talks from global and local leaders in food and fibre, plus interactive workshops, expert panels and special Q&As, innovative exhibits, valuable cross-sector networking and more. For $100 off In-Person tickets (100_FoodTech) or (if you can't make it to Christchurch) $20 off Virtual tickets (20_FoodTech), head over here and apply your discount code. Super Early Bird pricing ends March 20, 6am EST / 12 noon CET.
Calling all Ocean startups! Katapult Ocean invests in and supports startups with a positive impact on our ocean. Are you a Ocean startup working within one of these areas; food, transport, energy, natural assets, infrastructure or new frontiers? Apply for Katapult Ocean's Accelerator program! Katapult Ocean invests from $150K-$500K and runs a 3-month digital accelerator program, starting mid-September, to help your company accelerate in one of the world’s most advanced ocean clusters. Applications are now open and early applications are encouraged. Curious? Read more about the program here.
Food Edge Summit 2022 will take place May 3-5. The summit brings together the most prominent innovators, brands, and investors to discuss the cutting-edge trends and technological innovations that are creating a sustainable future of food. Now in its 5th year, Food Edge will take place as a hybrid event with virtual content sessions and in-person networking activities in Boston. More info and registration.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
This robot harvesting strawberries is very cool (20 sec video):
Here's a weirdly addictive game (for desktop/laptops, not mobile browsers) where your job is to use your Ukrainian tractor to steal Russian tanks that have run out of fuel (btw, here, here, and here are videos from the past few days of Ukrainian farmers stealing Russian tanks).
This Ramen restaurant delivery robot (2 min video). Also, this bartender robot. My birthday is coming up -- just saying.
Found via The Hustle: 'Driven & Listen' simulates cruising through cities all over the world, complete with local radio stations and street noise. Check out e.g. Lauterbrunnen (Switzerland), Hawaii, Rome, Amsterdam, and many other cities.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Shir Preda by Avishai Cohen. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter. And here's the Appetizer which I co-host. Did your brilliant friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.