Protix Pockets $57M, Crypto Goes Fast Food: Agrifoodtech Week

This week, Dutch company Protix bet big on insect protein, while US firm Cooks Venture secured capital to breed slower-growing chickens.

In the world of cryptocurrency, an initiative born as a joke could actually turn into a fast food restaurant.

[Disclosure: AFN’s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in Greenlight Biosciences, which is mentioned below.]

Financing of foodtech start-ups

🇬🇧 Endless West raises $60M in Series C capital to develop its molecular alcohol technology. The San Francisco-based company makes sustainable, artificially “aged” whiskeys and other spirits. (Forbes)

🇳🇱 Insect protein startup Protix raises $57 million. Proceeds will go towards international expansion and R&D for the company, which produces ingredients from black soldier flies. (Protix)

🇺🇸 Purely Elizabeth closes $50 million funding round. The Series B funding will drive investment in new products, e-commerce and marketing for the health food brand. (Prepared foods)

🇬🇧 Splendid Spoon raises $12M in Series B funds. The new cycle will allow Splendid Spoon to expand its core product line of plant-based bowls, soups and smoothies. (Splendid Spoon)

🇺🇸 Starting the grocery store Zero pockets $11.8 million. The seed funding will be used to expand the startup’s two-hour “eco-delivery” service that drops groceries in plastic-free containers. (Tech Crunch)

🇺🇸 Plant based patty maker All Legendary closes $6 million Series A. CircleUp Growth Partners led the round, which also included participation from General Mills‘ venture arm 301 Inc and Mark Cuban. (food dip)

🇬🇧 bowl pockets $4.6 million. This is the first funding round for the robotic catering start-up and will help it gain initial market share. (Technological innovation center for the retail trade)

🇺🇸 Crypto Community FriesDAO raises $4.4 million in one week. The group, born as a Discord joke, plans to buy a fast food franchise with the money – possibly a Metro. (The spoon)

🇻🇳 Rino gets $3 million pre-seed for 10-minute grocery deliveries in Vietnamese cities. The “dark store” operator has secured funding from Global Founders Capital, Sequoia Capital India, Venturra Discovery and Saison Capital, among others. (Tech Crunch)

🇦🇺 Plant-based food maker Fenn Foods raises $3 million. Fënn, which makes a range of alternative meat items, says it aims to have net zero emissions for all of its products by 2022. (vegeconomist)

🇸🇪 Petgood raises 19 million crowns ($2.1 million) for insect-based dog food; extends to Australia. The startup sources insect protein from Protix (see above.) (Petgood)

🇮🇩 Businesses East is leading a $1.5 million funding round for Bananas. The Bananas fast grocery delivery service will use the funds to open “dark stores” and break into fast-paced commerce in Indonesia. (BusinessStreetAsia)

Agtech seed funding

🇺🇸 The cooks venture obtains $50 million in funding. The slow-growing chicken breeder will use the money to expand its genetics program and build infrastructure. (Me at+Poultry)

🇮🇱 Agricultural Intelligence Startup Agritask banks $26 million. It will use the funds to develop new products for its digital farming operations platform, increase sales and marketing, and increase hiring. (ImpactAlpha)

🇲🇽 Sistema.bio closes over $15M Series B funding to scale clean energy technologies for farmers. The company, which provides biodigesters that convert waste into energy, operates in Mexico, Colombia, Kenya and India. (Sistema.bio)

🇪🇪 eAgronom raises $7.4 for the Series A round. The Estonian farm management software company wants to create a carbon credit platform for agriculture and expand beyond the EU with the new funds. (eAgronomist)

🇨🇦 wyvern earns $4 million. from Canada Sustainable Development Technology (SDTC) provided the funding, which follows Wyvern’s recent $4 million funding round. (Tech Crunch)

🇺🇸 “Natural” Herbicide Company Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions closes a $3 million round. It will use the capital to strengthen its portfolio of plant-derived active compounds. (Harp)

🇮🇳 EekiFoods pocket $2 million. The startup, which grows residue-free staple vegetables through its “plant growth system,” will deploy the funds to expand its business and upgrade its technology. (Economic period)

🇧🇷 Agricultural fintech AgroForte raises $1.13 million. AgroForte offers credit to small rural producers in Brazil and expects to disburse approximately $28 million in financing over the next 18 months. (context)

🇨🇳 AIForceTech secures an undisclosed amount in the Series A-plus round. The deal will allow the agriculture-focused self-driving startup to continue R&D and product development. (Pandaily)

M&A, IPOs and partnerships

🇺🇸 Greenlight Biosciences completes $1.2 billion SPAC merger to list on Nasdaq. The AgFunder-backed company is developing RNA-based products for agriculture and human health, including vaccines against Covid-19. (APN)

🇺🇸🇫🇷 ADM and InnovaFeed enter into a partnership on insect proteins. The Parisian startup will supply its black soldier fly protein to ADM’s pet food division. (APN)

🇮🇩 Cloud Kitchen Startup Delicious Body acquires the Listee order management platform. Yummy Corp said the deal will help it expand to serve more suppliers across Indonesia. (kompa)

🇨🇭🇺🇸 Nestlé Health Sciences buy a majority stake in Orgain. The latter specializes in organic, plant-based ingredients, including its popular protein powder available to US consumers. (Nestle)

🇬🇧 lawful plant raises $18.2 million to advance solution based on phytosterols for water stress. Sofinnova Partners led the Series A funding round, with support from ECBF, Bpifrance and several existing investors. (lawful plant)

🇿🇦 Private equity group Phatisa fund management takeover animal health company Deltamune. Agribusiness-focused Phatisa said the deal for the vaccine producer aligns with its enhanced strategic focus on food safety. (Business day)

Funds, grants and accelerators

🇰🇷 View Partners is closing a $64 million impact fund. The Envisioning Climate Solutions fund is backed by South Korean companies pursuing ESG and decarbonization goals. (Tech Crunch)

🇮🇪 Kerry Group launches $6.8 million sustainability program. More than 3,000 farming families in Ireland will take part in the initiative, which will provide technical and financial support to dairy farmers transitioning to regenerative farming practices. (dairy reporter)

🇺🇸 The University of Florida gets more than $2 million to grow tomatoes for indoor growing. the Food and Agriculture Research FoundationThe Precision Indoor Plants Consortium provides the grant “to define and improve the physical and genetic characteristics of tomatoes” and make them suitable for controlled environment farming. (Daily Horti)

Other news

🇨🇳 Cultured meat included in China’s five-year plan for the first time. A policy document released by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture also highlights synthetic egg analogues and recombinant proteins as specific areas of focus. (APN)

🌐 A ‘double climate dividend’ awaits high-income countries that embrace plant-based diets, study finds. Populations that pass TO EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Plan will both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, according to the article published in Nature. (APN)

🌐 Study: Big Businesses Won’t Meet Their Stated Net Zero Emissions Goals. Nestle, Unileverand crossroads were among the companies named in a new report by a German think tank NewClimate Institute and non-profit Carbon Market Watch. (Eco-business)

🇺🇸 Danforth Center creates a technology company. The institute of plant sciences created the wholly-owned Danforth Technology Company to turn the technologies it developed into startups. (Danforth Center)

🇮🇳 Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli invest in plant-based meat company blue tribe. The vegan celebrity couple are also joining the brand as ambassadors. (Inc42)

🇮🇳 Meanwhile, Indian plant-based meat brand Gooddot called on the talents of Neeraj Chopra. The Olympian javelin thrower, who won India’s first-ever athletics gold medal last year, has appeared in new TV commercials for the company. (Business Intern)