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#Topics Coutts Agro Leads $30M Series B in InnerPlant [ad_1] Israeli agritech startup, InnerPlant, announced it raised $30 million in Series B funding round led by Coutts Agro, a key operator and agricultural investor. The round saw participation from Systemiq Capital, and previous investors including Deere & Company and Bison Ventures. The latest round brings InnerPlant’s total funding to over $51 million. InnerPlant’s technology involves genetically engineering plants to emit distinct optical signals under stress conditions, such as nutrient deficiencies or pest attacks. These signals, detectable even from space, can indicate stress up to three weeks before traditional methods. The startup’s first commercial product, InnerSoy, is currently piloting in Southern Illinois in collaboration with GROWMARK. The program aims to provide early fungal infestation warnings, with plans to expand the technology across the Midwest over the next three years. According to Matt Coutts, Chief Investment Officer of Coutts Agro and InnerPlant board member, the startup’s technology is capable of increasing agricultural GDP by “fundamentally changing crop management.” The investment follows InnerPlant’s recent collaboration with John Deere and Syngenta to develop a precision pl...

Agri tech startups are crucial for the future of agriculture, as they solve many longstanding problems in the industry. Here, we take a look at 10 agri tech startups positioned to change the world. 🌾 Learn why agri tech startups are important and explore 10 startups that improve farming practices, making agriculture more sustainable and efficient. Trace Genomics, Apeel, The Boring Company, Biofishency Ltd., Farmers Edge, HELLO NATURE®, Indigo, Aquaconnect, Ÿnsect, Plenty® 👏 #entrepreneurship #agritech #startup #startups #farming #agriculture Read more 👇  https://lnkd.in/deDRpner

Sweden’s OlsAro raises €2.5M seed to expand AI-enabled climate-smart crop breeding platform OlsAro, a Gothenburg-based agtech startup, has secured a €2.5 million seed round led by Future Food Fund and PINC, the venture arm of Paulig, with participation from AgFunder, FLORA Ventures, Mudcake, and existing investors. The company specializes in developing crop varieties, starting with a salt-tolerant wheat, using AI-enabled forward genetics to address food security challenges exacerbated by climate change. OlsAro’s innovative approach has shown a 52% yield increase in saline conditions in Bangladesh, making previously unfarmable land viable. The funding will be used to expand geographically, refine their proprietary tech platform, and continue developing resilient crop varieties to enhance global food security and resilience. https://lnkd.in/gmT8vrNT #funding #nordicmade #sweden #foodtech #agritech #climatetech #sustainability #startups #trending

Israeli Startup Raised $20 Million to Expand Precision-Spray Tech Greeneye Technology, an Israel-based precision agriculture tech company, raised $20 million. Deep Insight, an Israeli investment company, led the round with participation from existing investors Syngenta Group Ventures, JVP, Orbia Ventures, and Mellanox. Farmers increasingly face challenges with spraying chemical herbicides via conventional broadcast. Greeneye’s technology can detect and spray only those areas with weeds, rather than hitting crops or bare ground. Greeneye will use the funding to scale up its operations in the USA and introduce new features and capabilities to its system. “A big concern today for farmers is, they’re running out of tools to manage the weeds on the farm because of resistance,” explains Greeneye CEO Nadav Bocher. “Farmers are getting excited about this technology not only because of the savings but also because of the options it opens as far as weed control”. The total funding the startup raised is $45 million. Greeneye launched its technology in 2022. Source: https://lnkd.in/dWt2cCBq

From Startup Magazine: Efficient Farming: The Role of Mobile Structures in Modern Agriculture ------------------------------- In today’s farming industry, efficiency plays a crucial role. Farmers encounter obstacles such as shifts in climate, limited resources, and The post Efficient Farming: The Role of Mobile Structures in Modern Agriculture appeared first on The Startup Magazine . #entrepreneur #startups #learnbusiness #techstartups #marketingtips #emailmarketing #businesstools #marketingstrategy #businessowner #startupbusiness #startuplife

AgTech Ecosystem - Oishii's $134M series B is an interesting CEA fund raise. As many of you know, I am no fan of the over-hyped CEA space based on a faulty premise that vertical farming could create a utopian farming scenario and revolutionize agriculture - and often had nothing to do with solving any real problems for growers or consumers. With hindsight and and as the dust settles down on the CEA space (notably vertical farming, green house is different), we should all work hard to pump the brakes on the hype machine. That capital that went to all the vertical farming startups would have been much more productive going to things like automation and biological solutions. Even more problematic, a lot of the agrifoodtech venture capital tourists that came by to put something with vertical farming into their portfolio have now left the building and are a big reason why the space went from $50B in 2021 to $30B in 2022. So a couple things about Oishii's raise caught my eye: 1) They are supply constrained - they have demand they can't meet that the funding allows them to grow into. This is the dream scenario for startups and VCs - pent up market demand that funding can solve. Product-market fit has been achieved - add capital and light match. 2) Taste over speed - I have argued for at least 3 years that taste will always be a huge variable for consumers to change buying habits. Oishii seems to have hit the mark on this one, and I think it's a smart bet - taste is often one of the main factors in commanding premium prices in any segment. 3) Look at the funders - banks, robotics companies, and other non-venture capital sources are in the list. We talk about how much AgTech is venture fundable and that some segments may not be, as well as the need for more capital from non-VC sources. Full credit to Oishii for finding some non-VC money for their B round. It's encouraging that there are check writers outside of VC firms that see an investment thesis worth investing in. 4) History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme - having watched Japan go through a vertical farming boom and bust cycle before the current one, Oishii learned and built differently. 5) I still want to see more details on unit economics of both the facilities and the consumer products. My short version - none of this means Oishii will reach the promised land of M&A or IPO, but if you bring: (1) a clear value proposition (taste) (2) products that are in high demand and can command premium price; (3) team that can build product 1.0 and scale; (4) a team to develop successful go-to market and partnerships, you can successfully fund raise. If one of those is missing, investors should proceed with caution. #verticalfarming #agtech #nonvccapital Adam Bergman Seana Day Rob Trice Shane Thomas Rhishi P. Damian Mason https://lnkd.in/eAF3u9pM

🌱🇮🇹 Top 10 Italian Agritech startups to follow [2024] Counting more the 450 active #agritech startups, Italy represents one of the most advanced ecosystems in the world. The first, in the world, in proportion to the population a with an estimated USD 250 million market. Here is the list of the top 10 agritech #startups you should follow: 🌻 xFarm Technologies - Provider of farm management solutions 🌻 3Bee - Developer of bee-health monitoring systems 🌻 Valagro - Biological products for agriculture and gardening 🌻 Soplaya - Marketplace offering multi-category bio-only products 🌻 Treedom - Platform for farmers to increase carbon credits 🌻 Planet Farms - Chain of tech-based indoor farms 🌻 Biolchim - Tech manufacturer of crop fertilizers to farming businesses 🌻 Finapp - Provider of cutting-edge solutions for soil moisture monitoring 🌻 Agricola Moderna - Vertical farming company producing salads and herbs 🌻 Agrobit s.r.l. - Develops DSS and satellite solutions for agriculture. Which startup would you add to the list? Write in the comments below 👇🏿

ONO garners fund worth 11 Cr to further the supply chain of agriculture produce READ MORE - https://lnkd.in/gh7UhzhK Aeravti Ventures | Indigram Labs Foundation - TBI, Supported by DST, GoI #startup #agritech #seedfunding #supplychain #agricultural #farmers #trade #growth #sustainable #business #investment #ecosystem #bioscience #climate #agrinews #news

Advancing Vertical Farming: An Interview with Plenty® CEO Arama Kukutai Ahead of the Indoor AgTech event next week, we had the chance to catch up with Arama Kukutai, CEO of Plenty, who brings over 20 years of experience as an investor, founder, and entrepreneur in the Agribusiness sector. As the co-founder of Finistere Ventures, Kukutai expanded his influence in AgTech, establishing a global network and offices in key Agrifood epicenters. Scaling food production assets in the vertical farming sector requires significant capital investment due to its infrastructure-intensive nature. Kukutai highlights that indoor ag tech must secure asset-level financing using a more efficient cost of capital. “At Plenty, we’ve already shifted gears to farm-level financing, but we will continue to invest in R&D to unlock new crops and better economics for our vertical platform,” he states. Read more on iGrow News. Subscribe to our weekly industry digest at agtechdigest.com/subscribe

NEWS REVIEW: FCMB, FMO SEEK AGRIC SOLUTIONS IN NIGERIA WITH AGRITECH HACKATHON FCMB and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) are launching an Agritech Hackathon and venture-building program to boost innovation in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. The initiative, run by Heave Ventures, invites startups to tackle challenges like credit access and food security, offering up to ₦23 million in prizes. Explore this link to read more... https://lnkd.in/dNyFbW6B #agribusinessafrica  #agribusinessnigeria  #agribusiness  #nigeriaagriculture  #economicgrowth  #agricnewsinafrica  #agrinews  #agriculture  #foodsecurity  #agribusinessnews #agriculture