2022 Agfunder Agrifoodtech Investment Report

2022
AgFunder AgriFoodTech
Investment Report
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INTRODUCTION
Global AgriFoodTech
startups that raised the biggest rounds launched only 12
or 15 months ago.
in 2022 In this year’s report, AgFunder made some adjustments

to our dataset. We’re constantly working to improve our
data through machine learning, manual curation and
Climate change. Covid. Ukraine. These severe and
guidance from the industry. But given the scale of
overlapping crises form the backdrop of surging
growth we witnessed in 2021, we have tightened our
investment in agrifood technologies. Alternative
definitions of what constitutes an agrifoodtech venture
investments are no doubt appealing when global
to ensure that the emphasis on food and agriculture is
markets are in flux. But an investment in agrifoodtech is
core to the business. That’s had a recalibrating effect on
an investment to secure one of our most basic human
past data, as well as this year’s investment figures. (For
needs.
example, some later rounds for logistics companies that
Venture capital investors pumped $51.7 billion into started in agrifood and have pivoted strongly into other
agrifoodtech in 2021—an 85% increase over 2020. The sectors have been removed from the dataset – for more,
theme of the year: doubling-down (and tripling, and see p.55). The result, we feel, accurately reflects the
quadrupling-down). Sectors of the industry that took off sector today.
in response to the pandemic not only remained the
This week, AgFunder also announced the first close of
most popular investment categories; they exploded.
our fourth fund on $60 million – we’re targeting $100
Investment in the e-Grocery sector grew an astounding million and are working to close by the summer. As ever,
188% over 2020 and claimed more than 35% of all we are grateful to you, our readers and always love to
agrifoodtech investment. The category was fueled by hear from you and receive feedback.
companies raising multiple eight-, nine- and 10-figure
The AgFunder team
rounds. The trend was consistent worldwide. Several
2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 3

SPECIAL THANKS
Cover & Section Images

Special thanks to our portfolio companies who contributed images to this year’s report
CH4 Global is leading the development Hyphen robotic restaurant

and commercialization of a unique red systems can replace the
seaweed (Asparagopsis) which can reduce traditional makeline setup
the greenhouse gas emissions related to popularized by Chipotle and
livestock farming. Learn more other assembly line-style
concepts. Learn more
Modern Synthesis manufactures a Innate Biology is developing

non-woven leather alternative by growing the world's first supplement to
bacterial cellulose within a scaffolding that mimic fasting in the body and
gives it a distinct look and properties gain the associated benefits
Learn more without actually having to fast.
Learn more
Umaro Foods is transforming seaweed Aigen is building solar-

into a protein-rich, nutritious, crispy, powered, autonomous robots
crunchy, umami-filled, superfood bacon using computer vision to perform
alternative. Learn more tasks like weeding. Learn more
Cargamos is revolutionizing same-day Hwy Haul is a digital platform

delivery across Latin America. that connects farmers, distributors,
Learn more wholesalers and retailers directly
with truckers. Learn more

2021 Overview
Image courtesy of Umaro Foods

AgriFoodTech Funding Breakdown 2021
Upstream Downstream
Ag Biotech, Farm Management SW, Farm Robotics & Equipment In-store Restaurant & Retail, Online Restaurants & Mealkits,
Bioenergy & Biomaterials, Novel Farming, Agribusiness Marketplaces eGrocery, Restaurant Marketplaces, Home & Cooking
Midstream, Innovative Food
YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights
If you’re like us and spent the past year following the day-to- Key category moves:
day funding announcements from agrifoodtech companies,
you probably have whiplash. Especially if you’ve been trying
⇢ Downstream investment increased 124% YOY to
to keep up with the capital flooding into the eGrocery
$32.1bn, while deal activity increased 68%. Multiple
sector, which was by far the biggest investment category in
billion-dollar rounds in the eGrocery sector are
2021.
largely responsible for the change.
eGrocery also registered 188% year-on-year (YOY) growth,
⇢ eGrocery investment surged 188% YOY, accounting
thanks to four 10-figure rounds - the biggest of which was a
for 35% of all investment activity in 2021.
$3bn investment into China’s Furong Xingsheng. There
were also five rounds of over $500m. ⇢ All categories posted investment gains. The fastest-
growing outside of eGrocery were Innovative Food
Online grocery shopping was a nice-to-have back in 2019.
(103% YOY), Online Restaurants & Mealkits (102%),
It’s now so engrained in consumer behavior that new
and Cloud Retail Infrastructure (97.5%).
entrants are building their brands around not just
‘convenient’ but near-instant delivery. ⇢ The biggest categories by share of total funding
outside of eGrocery were Cloud Retail Infrastructure,
These models are so new that it remains to be seen whether
Innovative Food, and In-Store Restaurant & Retail
the economics are feasible or sustainable long-term. For
Tech.
now, investors are buying in - and buying in big. Germany’s
dueling instant-delivery companies Flink and Gorillas both ⇢ The most active categories by deal volume were
raised more than $1 billion in 2021. Turkey’s Getir came Innovative Food (13.4% of total deals), Midstream
close with $983m. Tech (12.1%), In-Store Restaurant & Retail Tech
(11.9%), and eGrocery (10.9%).

YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights
Notably, greenhouse grower Local Bounti went public via
Other sectors that took off in response to the Covid-19 SPAC deal in in November.
pandemic continued their acceleration in 2021. Investments
in Cloud Retail Infrastructure grew 97.5% YOY to $4.8bn, We expect to see investment in various indoor farming
accounting for more than 9% of all investment activity. The formats accelerate during 2022.
category was pulled up by four $500m+ deals.
“
Mega rounds
It remains to be seen whether the economics
⇢ 2021 was the year of the mega-deal. Four
of near-instant grocery delivery are feasible
rounds topped the $1bn mark – all of them in
or sustainable long-term. For now, investors eGrocery. China’s Furong Xingsheng closed the
are buying in - and buying in big. biggest single round at $3bn, while the US’s
goPuff raised two billion-dollar rounds.
Innovative Foods tied Cloud Retail Infrastructure for
investment activity, growing 103% YOY. More than 430 ⇢ There were 13 additional $500m+ deals in
companies raised funds, with familiar names such as 2021, compared to seven in 2020. Categories
Impossible Foods, NotCo, Perfect Day, Future Meat, and were more diverse, covering Cloud Retail
Nature’s Fynd behind the category’s biggest rounds. Infrastructure (CloudKitchens), Restaurant
Marketplaces (Swiggy; Wolt), and In-Store
Among newer Innovative Food startups, differentiation is Retail Tech (Trax).
becoming a challenge.
⇢ Only one upstream venture raised a $500m+
Novel Farming Systems was neither among the biggest nor mega-round: Impossible Foods.
highest-growth sectors, but investors showed renewed
interest in indoor farming tech.

YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights
The US still dominates as the world’s biggest agrifoodtech Other geographic insights
investment market, with US-based startups raising 41% of all
capital and accounting for 34% of deals in 2021.
⇢ A lack of growth- and late-stage deals in Europe
The US shows its relative maturity to the rest of the world by may suggest that many of the continent’s
the diversity of startups raising growth and late-stage agrifoodtech startups are struggling to grow and
investment rounds during the year. scale.
Six of the 15 biggest investment rounds were in upstream ⇢ Many European countries are one-deal markets.
categories, involving the likes of alt-meat giant Impossible In the Netherlands, eGrocery venture Picnic’s
Foods, biologicals producer Pivot Bio, and bio-materials single late-stage round accounted for 77% of the
maker Bolt Threads. market’s $916m in total investment capital.
Of the $21bn raised in total by US-based companies, there ⇢ Finland, Germany, and Spain had similar market
was a 50/50 split between upstream and downstream dynamics to the Netherlands.
categories.
⇢ Agribusiness Marketplaces were the slowest-
Agrifoodtech investment in the rest of the world remains growing category globally in 2021. In emerging
largely a downstream game. Of the $30.7bn non-US markets, however, they’re seeing strong investor
companies raised in 2021, 70% went to downstream interest. That’s because in South Asia, Sub-
ventures; 44% went to eGrocery companies, whereas only Saharan Africa, and elsewhere, supply chains are
24% of US-bound capital went to the same category. heavily fragmented and agtech ventures tend
towards vertical integration to gain market
China’s agrifoodtech funding landscape was synonymous traction.
with eGrocery in 2021. Of the $7.3bn raised by Chinese
agrifoodtech ventures, 75% went to eGrocery.

Upstream + Downstream YEAR IN REVIEW
Annual Financings | 2012-2021

Current total as of Feb 28, 2022
$51.7B
$27.8B
$21.3B $22.1B
$12.3B
$10.9B
$8.7B
$5.9B
$3.1B $2.3B
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Upstream/Downstream YEAR IN REVIEW
Annual Financings | 2012-2021

$32bn
Downstream
Upstream
$19bn

Deal Count | 2012-2021

1,804
Downstream
Upstream
1,197

Median Deal Size | 2012-2020

$2.5m
$2.4m
Downstream
Upstream

Deals by Category
Image courtesy of Aigen

WHAT IS AGRIFOODTECH?
AgriFoodTech Category Definitions

Ag Biotechnology Innovative Food
On-farm inputs for crop & animal ag including genetics, Cultured meat, novel ingredients, plant-based
microbiome, breeding, animal health. proteins.
Agribusiness Marketplaces In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech

Commodities trading platforms, online input Shelf-stacking robots, 3D food printers, POS systems,
procurement, equipment leasing. food waste monitoring IoT.
Bioenergy & Biomaterials Restaurant Marketplaces

Non-food extraction & processing, feedstock Online tech platforms delivering food from a wide
technology, cannabis pharmaceuticals. range of vendors.
Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT eGrocery

Ag data capturing devices, decision support software, Online stores and marketplaces for sale & delivery of
big data analytics. processed & unprocessed ag products to consumer.
Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Equipment Home & Cooking Tech

On-farm machinery, automation, drone manufacturers, Smart kitchen appliances, nutrition technologies, food
grow equipment. testing devices.
Midstream Technologies Online Restaurants & Mealkits

Food safety & traceability tech, logistics & transport, Startups offering culinary meals and sending pre-
processing tech. portioned ingredients to cook at home.
Novel Farming Systems Cloud Retail Infrastructure

Upstream
Indoor farms, aquaculture, insect & algae production. On-demand enabling tech, ghost
Downstream
kitchens, last-mile delivery robots &
services Both
Miscellaneous eg, fintech for farmers

DEALS BY CATEGORY
2021 Deal Volume and Activity by Category

2 E+1 0 4 5
0
$18.5B 424 # Deals

1 .8
E +1 0
Financing 4 0
382
374
1 .6
E +1 0
343
3 5
0
1 .4
E +1 0
302 3 0
1 .2
E +1 0
2 5
0
1 E+1 0
209 2 0
8 E+0 9
185
172
161
1 5
0
$4.8B $4.8B 130

6 E+0 9
$4.2B 117
110
$3.8B 100 1 0
$3.B78$2.6B
4 E+0 9
$2.3B $2.1B 68
$1.3B $1.2B $1.2B 5 0
$0.9B
2 E+0 9
$0.4B $0.7B
0 0
*for category icons, see p 16

DEALS BY CATEGORY
2021 Deal Volume and Activity by Category ex-China

1 .4
E +1 0 4 5
0
$13.B
# Deals
393 Financing
4 0
1 .2
E +1 0
366
344
3 5
0
316
1 E+1 0
3 0
286
8 E+0 9
2 5
0
2 0
188
6 E+0 9
$4.8B172
$4.7B 167
$4.1B 149 1 5
0
4 E+0 9
$3.4B 118
$2.8B 113
104
$2.4B $2.3B
1 0
92
74 $1.8B
63
$1.2B $1.1B $1.1B
2 E+0 9
5 0
$0.7B
$0.4B $0.5B
0 0
*for category icons, see p 16

DEALS BY CATEGORY
2021 AgriFoodTech Investment
1.7% eGrocer
0.8%
2.2% 1.3% Innovative Food
2.3%
2.5% Cloud Retail Infrastructure
In-store Retail & Restaurant Tech

4.0%
Midstream Technologies
4.4% Restaurant Marketplaces

35.8%
Ag Biotechnology
5.1%
Novel Farming Systems
5.8% Bioenergy & Biomaterials
Agribusiness Marketplaces
7.3% Online Restaurants & Mealkits
Farm Mgmt SW, Sensing & IoT

9.3%
8.2% Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Other
Farm Eq
9.3% Home & Cooking
Miscellaneous

DEALS BY CATEGORY
Category Deal Activity 2020 vs 2021

Investors were consistent with their interests in 2021: the top five agrifoodtech investment categories simply reshuffled positions from
2020. Innovative Food companies topped the ranks, claiming 13.5% of deals, but only 9.6% of capital.
eGrocery companies claimed an overwhelming share of 2021’s investment, claiming 35% of total 2021 funding but just 11% of deals.
The category’s deal count increased 37% from 2020, however. Farm Management Software companies, meanwhile, accounted for 9.6%
of deals – an increase of 29% from 2020 – but took only 2.3% of funds.
Rounds got bigger in 2021 for Novel Farming Systems companies and Restaurant Marketplaces. Both categories fell in terms of deal
activity, but still raised roughly 45% more capital than in 2020.

Fund IV
We just held a $60m first close on our
$100m fund.
Join us and leading global LPs in the second

close of our flagship fund before the end of
the year.
Learn more: https://agfunder.com/

Upstream DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top Ag Biotech Deals Top Novel Farming Systems Deals

2021 saw a greater mix of technologies (gene editing, Germany’s Infarm raised a mix of debt and equity across two
biologicals inputs, and molecular biotech) on the leaderboard rounds, following its $170m Series C last year. US greenhouse
than in 2020. Pivot Bio continues to dominate the biologicals grower Local Bounti scored $200m in debt before its SPAC IPO
game. Investors also backed generalist platforms for gene in November. Pure Harvest raised an Islamic finance-compliant
editing (Inscripta) and DNA synthesis platforms (DNA Script). sukuk ahead of an equity raise.
Pivot Bio $430M Bowery Farming Inc $300M

Inari $208M Infarm $200M
DNA Script $165M Local Bounti $200M
Inscripta, Inc $150M 80 Acres Farms $160M
Mojia Bioscience $120M Edenworks $122M
AgBiome $116M Shenandoah Growers $120M
Caribou Biosciences $115M Infarm $100M
Anuvia Plant… $103M Little Leaf Farms $90M
Pairwise Plants $90M Forever Oceans $68M
Invaio Sciences $89M Pure Harvest Smart… $65M
Qitan Technology $62M Pure Harvest Smart… $60M
TerViva $54M Agronutris $58M
Invaio Sciences $50M Intelligent Growth… $57M
Entrinsic Health… $49M Iron Ox $53M
Sound Agriculture $45M Dream Harvest… $50M
AgFunder portfolio company

Top Farm Management Software Top Agribusiness Marketplaces

Investment in Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT grew Agribusiness Marketplaces were the slowest-growing category
51% YOY. The top deal: New York-based Gro Intelligence, a in 2021. They’re seeing more interest from investors in emerging
Black woman-led company that started in Africa and is focusing markets, however, where supply chains are more fragmented
on climate insights. Minnesota-based CiBO is capitalizing on and agtech ventures benefit from being vertically integrated to
growing interest in agri-carbon initiatives. gain market traction.
Gro Intelligence $85M Farmers Business… $300M

Samasource $70M DeHaat $115M
Hologram $65M Agrostar $70M
Fyllo $40M TaniHub $66M
CiBO Technologies $30M

Frubana $65M
Tridge $60M
FieldIn $30M
Bushel $47M
Fyllo $30M
ProducePay $43M
GREENLABS $29M
Captain Fresh $40M
Solinftec $27M
Aruna $35M
ICEYE $25M
Jianan Nongmu $30M
Sentera $25M DeHaat $30M
AgriWebb $23M Agrofy $30M
Halter $23M Aceli Africa $27M
Ceres Imaging $23M Silo $25M
Cervest $23M Full Harvest $23M

Top Innovative Food Deals

⇢ Innovative Foods had the most investment Impossible Foods $500M
activity in 2021, with more than 430 companies Nature’s Fynd $350M
raising funds. There were a lot of familiar
Perfect Day Foods $350M
names behind the category’s biggest rounds,
Future Meat Technologies $347M
covering the spectrum of the early generation
The Not Company $235M
of alt-meats and dairy: plant-based (Impossible
Motif FoodWorks $226M
Foods and Not Company), cellular (Perfect Day,
Future Meat), and fermentation (Nature’s Fynd). Clara Foods $175M
Aleph Farms $105M
⇢ Mirae Asset Global Investments re-upped
ByHeart $90M
leading another $500m round for Impossible
Nobell Foods $75M
Foods, following participation in a $500m
Daring Foods $65M
investment in 2020. Impossible has raised more
than $2bn to date.
MycoTechnology $62M
Ripple Foods $60M
⇢ Off the leaderboard, among newer startups, BlueNalu $60M
differentiation in the category is becoming a
Fazenda Futuro $58M
challenge.
v2food $53M
⇢ Innovative Food companies are emerging in Miyoko's Kitchen $52M
smaller markets, signaling growing popularity Legendairy Foods $50M
of plant-based and alternative diets worldwide. Emergy Food $50M
Examples include Mexico’s plant-based meat SIMULATE $50M
company Plant Squad, which raised the
smallest round in the category ($20,000).

Top Midstream Tech Deals Top Biomaterials & Bioenergy Deals

Most of the top Midstream Tech deals focused on bolstering The Biomaterials and Bioenergy companies we track are rooted
supply chains. Solutions range from robotics (Dexterity) to in the agrifood sector. Japan’s Spiber is making sustainable
software (FourKites) to procurement, and logistics (Choco, fabrics and materials from sugars and proteins. Bolt Threads in
Ninjacart, GudangAda). Investors backed companies in the US, California and Modern Meadow in New Jersey make plant-based
China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, and elsewhere. leather.
Apeel Sciences $250M Bolt Threads $253M

Wiliot $200M Spiber $221M
Benchling $200M Tripod Preclinical… $156M
Augury $180M Modern Meadow $130M
Ninjacart $145M Footprint $123M
Dexterity $140M Genomatica $118M
Wangjiahuan $124M Bioenergy DevCo $100M
Benchling $100M RWDC Industries $95M
GudangAda $100M Spiber $91M
Choco $100M BluePHA $77M
FourKites $100M Ecovative Design $60M
Bringg $100M Evozyne $54M
Xianshenghuo $93M Fulcrum Bioenergy $50M
Jumbotail $85M BTR Energy $45M
Culture Biosciences $80M DMC Biotechnologies $39M

Downstream DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top eGrocery Deals Top eGrocery Deals ex-China

Investment in the eGrocery category surged an astounding Investors backed eGrocers in 50 countries. Chinese players
188% YOY. Four companies raised more than $1bn, including claimed 30% of the $18.5bn invested in the category; outside of
China’s Furong Xingsheng, which had the single biggest round China, US-based goPuff raised the most ($2.15bn). Germany’s
of the year ($3bn). Three additional companies raised more than instant delivery services Gorillas and Flink each raised more than
$500m each. $1bn; while Turkey’s Getir came close at $983m.
Furong Xingsheng $3B goPuff $1.15B

goPuff $1.15B goPuff $1B
Gorillas $1B Gorillas $1B
goPuff $1B Flink Food $750M
Flink Food GmbH $750M Picnic $709M
Nice Tuan (also Shi… $750M Getir $555M
Picnic $709M Weee! $316M
Dingdong Maicai $700M Getir $300M
Getir $555M Gorillas $290M
Dingdong Maicai $330M Kolonial.no $266M
Weee! $316M Instacart $265M
Getir $300M JOKR $260M
Furong Xingsheng $300M Daki $260M
Gorillas $290M Facily $250M
Kolonial.no $266M Flink Food $240M

Downstream DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Top Cloud Retail Infrastructure
Restaurant Tech was one of 2021’s busiest agrifoodtech sectors Cloud Retail Infrastructure was the biggest category in terms of
in terms of both investment volume and deal numbers. But it growth by deal count, increasing 61% over 2020. Investments in
didn’t see much YOY growth in deal activity; a small number of the sector grew more than 97% to $4.8bn, pulled up by four
big rounds are responsible for the category’s 62% YOY growth $500m+ deals.
in dollars invested.
Trax $640M CloudKitchens $850M

Dutchie $350M Nuro $600M
SpotOn $300M Glovo App $528M
Fetch Rewards $210M Rappi $500M
Dutchie $200M Kitopi $415M
Lunchr $200M Loggi $212M
Plate IQ $160M Fabric $200M
SpotOn $125M Rebel Foods $175M
Sundayapp $100M Glovo App $121M
Fountain $85M Halan $120M
PuduTech $78M TakeOff Technologies $85M
Odeko $70M Airlift Technologies $85M
Popmenu $65M C3 $80M
Mr Yum $64M Barogo $71M
Instawork $60M Deliverect $65M

Deals by Stage
Image courtesy of Modern Synthesis

Upstream & Downstream DEALS BY STAGE
Investment Volume by Stage | 2012-2021

⇢ A quick way to account for agrifoodtech
Late
investing in 2021: take dollar investment
Growth
activity in 2020 and basically double it.
Early
⇢ Investment volumes in every deal stage Debt
were about twice as much as 2020. Debt
was the only exception.
⇢ Specialist agrifoodtech – and

increasingly climate tech – investors
dominated early-stage rounds.
⇢ At the growth stage, specialist investors

were joined by generalist VC funds like
Andreessen Horowitz, Endeavor
Catalyst, GGV Capital, and Obvious
Ventures.
⇢ Tiger Global was among the most

active growth-stage investors.

Average & Median Deal Size by Stage | 2021

⇢ Median and average deal sizes differ for
Median
upstream and downstream ventures.
Average
⇢ At the seed and Series A stages, the two

trend closely together in both upstream
3 0 0 0 0
and downstream categories.
⇢ In later stages, the disparities widen, as

2 5
0 0 0 0
downstream ventures tend to take in $242M
bigger funding rounds and more outliers
emerge. Thus, downstream rounds pull
2 0 0 0 0
averages up, while upstream rounds reign

in the medians.
1 5
0 0 0 0
$144M
$113M
$77.7M
1 0 0 0 0
$47.3M $45.6M $52.6M

5 0 0 0 0
$23.M
$12.8M $8.M $12.5M
$1.7M $0.8M $1.3M
0
Seed A B C D Late Debt

Median Round Size by Stage - 2012-2021

Late
Growth
Early
Debt

DEALS BY STAGE
Top 15 Seed Deals Top 15 Series A Deals

Flink’s 2021 fundraising epitomizes the pace of acceleration and There was a good mix of upstream and downstream
froth in the eGrocery sector. The company launched in technologies in the top Series A deal list. Downstream ventures
September 2020; by March last year, it had raised two seed claimed a larger share of capital, however. Flink, JOKR, and
rounds (one of $52m!), followed by a $240m Series A in June, Zapp are all eGrocery platforms. Upstream, China’s Mojia is an
then by an astounding $750m Series B in December. Ag Biotech venture and Xianshenghuo makes cold-chain tech.
Flink Food $52M Flink Food GmbH $240M

Buyk $46M JOKR $170M
Sundayapp $24M Mojia Bioscience $120M
Next Gen Foods $20M Sundayapp $100M
Ivy Farm… $20M Zapp $100M
Precision.ai $20M Xianshenghuo $93M
Ruiyun Cold Chain $19M Little Leaf Farms $90M
Greenforce $17M Jüsto $65M
All G Foods $16M Mr Yum $64M
Yababa $16M Qianhai Yueshi… $61M
Ruiyun Cold Chain $15M Zepto $60M
Dishpatch $14M MILKRUN $58M
Calo $14M MaxAB $55M
Imagindairy $13M Evozyne $54M Upstream
Serve Robotics $13M FastAF $50M Downstream

DEALS BY STAGE
Top 15 Series B Deals Top 15 Series C Deals

Most of the top downstream Series B deals went to instant Talk about a mixed-bag: instant eGrocery (Gorillas; Getir), Cloud
eGrocery delivery companies. CloudKitchens (Cloud Infrastructure (Kitopi), Ag Biotech (Clara; DNA Script), and
Infrastructure) and Plate IQ (Restaurant & Retail Tech) were the Biomaterials (Modern Meadow) all closed large Series C rounds.
only exceptions. Upstream rounds were dominated by US eGrocer Misfits Market, which started out selling ‘ugly
Innovative Food and Novel Farming Systems ventures. produce,’ raised a two-part, $425m round co-led by SoftBank.
CloudKitchens $850M Gorillas $1B

Flink Food $750M Kitopi $415M
Future Meat… $347M Nature’s Fynd $350M
Gorillas $290M Getir $300M
JOKR $260M Bowery Farming $300M
Daki $260M Misfits Market $225M
Motif FoodWorks $226M Dutchie $200M
Plate IQ $160M Misfits Market $200M
80 Acres Farms $160M Fabric $200M
Dexterity $140M Pupumall $200M
Getir $128M Wiliot $200M
Wangjiahuan $124M Clara Foods $175M
Edenworks $122M DNA Script $165M
Aleph Farms $105M DealShare $144M
Upstream
GudangAda $100M Modern Meadow $130M
Downstream

DEALS BY STAGE
Top Late Deals

⇢ There were a total of 17 $500m+ deals Furong Xingsheng $3B
in 2021 (three were growth-stage).
Upstream ventures scored only one goPuff $1.1B
$500m+ deal, so naturally this is a goPuff $1B
downstream-dominated list (as usual).
Swiggy $800M
⇢ Seven of the top 15 late-stage deals
Nice Tuan $750M
were eGrocery companies. All were in
the US, Europe, or China. The latter’s Picnic $709M
Furong Xingsheng raised $3.4bn in total
Dingdong Maicai $700M
during 2021; that’s 6.5% of all
agrifoodtech investment capital for the Trax $640M
year.
Nuro $600M
⇢ After eGrocery, Cloud Retail Getir $555M
Infrastructure dominated the list, with
large late-stage rounds for US-based Wolt $530M
Nuro, Colombia’s Rappi, and Spain’s Glovo App $528M
Glovo.
Rappi $500M
⇢ India’s Swiggy, a Restaurant
Impossible Foods $500M Upstream
Marketplace, was among the rare non-
Downstream
eGrocery companies to raise more than Swiggy $450M
$1bn in total during 2021.

Deals by Country
Image courtesy of Cargamos

DEALS BY GEOGRAPHY
Global Investment World Map
# Deals

INVESTMENT BY GEOGRAPHY
Global Investment by Region

Americas
Asia
Europe
Africa
Oceana

DEALS BY GEOGRAPHY
Global Deal Activity by Region

Americas
Asia
Europe
Africa
Oceana

DEALS BY GEOGRAPHY
Top 20 Countries by Investment

#Deals
⇢ The US still attracts the lion’s share of
United States $21B 1,062
agrifoodtech capital, despite solid ecosystem
growth and investor interest in Asia and China $7.3B 123
Europe. US-based companies accounted for India $4B 257
41% of investment capital and 34% of deals.
Germany $3B 100
⇢ Chinese agrifoodtech investing was
United Kingdom $1.3B 188
synonymous with eGrocery in 2021. Of the
$7.3bn raised by Chinese agrifoodtech Brazil $1.3B 102
ventures, 75% went to the eGrocery
Israel $1.2B 71
category. China’s biggest category by deal
count was Midstream Technologies (32 France $1.1B 69
deals), but the sector raised only about
Turkey $1B 29
$400m, or 5.5% of China-bound capital.
Singapore $1B 54
⇢ One company – eGrocery venture Picnic –
accounted for 77% of the Netherlands’ Netherlands $0.9B 44
$916m in total agrifoodtech funding, which it
Spain $0.7B 59
raised in a single late-stage round. That left
38 companies to share the remaining $207m Colombia $0.7B 19
across 43 rounds. Finland $0.7B 22
⇢ Finland, Germany, and Spain displayed United Arab Emirates $0.6B 22
similar market dynamics to the Netherlands.

DEALS BY COUNTRY
Top US Deals Top Non-US Deals

The US raised more agrifoodtech investment capital than The top 15 deals outside the US account for $11.7bn in capital,
anywhere else in the world in 2021; but its top 15 deals raised compared to $7.2bn in the US. eGrocery dominates the list;
less than the overseas top 15. Many more upstream ventures in startups from other categories either haven’t matured enough,
the US raised large growth- and late-stage rounds than in other or haven’t convinced investors..
countries, signaling the market’s relative maturity.
goPuff $1.15B Furong Xingsheng $2B

goPuff $1B Gorillas $1B
CloudKitchens $850M Swiggy $800M
Nuro $600M Flink Food $750M
Impossible Foods $500M
Nice Tuan $750M
Pivot Bio $430M
Picnic $709M
Nature’s Fynd $350M
Dingdong Maicai $700M
Dutchie $350M
Trax $640M
Weee! $316M
Getir $555M
Farmers Business… $300M
Wolt $530M
SpotOn $300M
Bowery Farming $300M Glovo App $528M
Instacart $265M Rappi $500M

JOKR $260M Swiggy $450M
Bolt Threads $253M Kitopi $415M

EXITS
China Insights from

Winnie Leung, vice president, Bits x Bites
What were the key trends and developments in top-down forces to their advantage and grow.
agrifood venture funding in your region in 2021? What are your expectations for 2022?
Few priorities are higher in the Chinese government agenda
2022 will be the year of biotechnology.
than food self-sufficiency and carbon neutrality. After two
decades of farmland consolidation, larger field operations China has cost and supply chain advantages in fermentation.
now have the scale and skills to use precision ag solutions to As the demand for capacity grows alongside continued
boost yield and manage inputs. fermented protein innovation, China is in a good position to
The safety certificates recently issued to local Chinese breeds push the pedal.
of GM soy and corn are taking us one step closer to local GM The country’s 14th Five-Year Plan for agriculture set goals to
crop farming and triggering breeding innovations. develop cellular agriculture and synthetic dairy for the first
Tightening environmental regulations for chemical time; this gives yet another reason to follow how this happy
production have effectively boosted biomanufacturing of collision of factors will unfold.
essential nutrients.
It’s worth watching how companies developing farm

management software and ag biotechnology will use these

EXITS
Europe Insights from

Kevin Camphuis, co-founder, ShakeUpFactory
What were the key trends and developments in investment activity around ‘quick commerce’ that we had in
2021. However, the necessary transformation of the whole
agrifood venture funding in your region in 2021?
food system and of its numerous local actors across Europe
Europe is showing strong dynamics in all categories, with will sustain the emergence of more local startups - as well as
every country gradually consolidating its own diverse the growth of its most prominent players.
ecosystem of specialization. Year after year we see Europe
2022 will also be the year of deployment of the new six-year
consolidating its excellence in Novel Farming Systems,
European Common Agricultural Policy, adding more
Innovative Food, and Ag Biotech – as well as some more
pressure on upstream actors to adopt new practices and
niche areas like fintech for restaurants, or robotics for farmers
technologies.
or warehouses.
2021 has also confirmed the emergence of a solid ecosystem

of European investors and stronger interest from
international VC funds towards European startups - some of
these funds having even setup dedicated teams in Europe.
What are your expectations for 2022?
We'll probably not experience the the same frantic

EXITS
India Insights from

Mark Kahn, managing partner, Omnivore
What were the key trends and developments in agriculture and food systems.
agrifood venture funding in your region in 2021? What are your expectations for 2022?
In 2021, for the first time ever, the number of We have an accelerating pace of investment in this space,
upstream agrifoodtech deals surpassed downstream deals. complemented by a superlative degree of talent. I am
While downstream investments saw big-ticket funding in the hopeful that 2022 will be the year when multiple Indian
Restaurant Marketplaces and eGrocery categories, the Covid- agritech unicorns will rise. This year will also see significantly
19 pandemic helped investors become more aware of the higher farmer adoption of agritech solutions and the
fundamental problems across value chains and the sheer continuing digitalization of rural India. The climate focus to
scope of business opportunities. date has been peripheral in India despite the country’s acute
vulnerability to climate change. We expect more
Broadly, concerns around the impact of climate change, a
greater consumer focus on health and nutrition, and the entrepreneurs to work towards innovations for climate
necessity to improve efficiency in ag supply chains catalyzed change mitigation and building resilience within agricultural
investments in upstream technologies in 2021. The ever- communities. We are also eager to see – and even catalyze –
more innovations in agrifood life sciences, which will be
rising cost of inputs continues to pose a significant threat to
critical for ushering in commercially viable sustainable
farmer profitability and access to nutritious food. Therefore,
farm tech has emerged as vital to the future of Indian agriculture.

EXITS
Israel Insights from

Ido Yosovzon, agrifoodtech sector lead,
Start-Up Nation Central
What were the key trends and developments in toward climate and sustainability-related technologies, and
the related consumer demand trends. Solutions associated
agrifood venture funding in your region in 2021?
with beneficial environmental impact show untapped
The sector is maturing with larger rounds in both ag and potential to unlock new investment and growth
food. Foodtech investments have seen significant growth in opportunities; which, in turn, can add value and resources to
2021; it was the first year in which foodtech companies raised the entire ecosystem.
more funds and more rounds than agtech companies. Israeli
Start-Up Nation Central will continue to support the growth of
cultivated meat startups were particularly successful in raising
the agrifoodtech sector in Israel by generating more global
capital, attracting the highest amount of funds. 2021 saw the
cooperation and funding opportunities for companies that
first mega rounds ($100m+) in alternative proteins in Israel,
are operating in the field.
underscoring investors’ belief in the field’s potential. The
growing round sizes are characterized by a growing number
of foreign investors entering the Israeli agrifood space.
The agrifoodtech sector is in an advantageous position to

benefit from the growing awareness and attention directed

EXITS
Latin America Insights from

Hernan Castro, chief financial officer, GLOCAL (HC) and
Bernardo Milesy, managing director, GLOCAL (BM)
agrifoodtech ecosystem this year, with new successes for
What were the key trends and developments in established startups - but even more so with many seed
companies emerging which are rapidly being backed by
agrifood venture funding in your region in 2021? regional VCs in partnership with global leaders.
BM: Downstream solutions continued to get VCs’ attention. BM: In terms of trends, we see that consumers are becoming
While the effects of Covid-19 are fading away, some of the more aware of sustainability – which is evident in the
social behaviors it created have become deeply rooted. So purchase decisions they make – and that our society is
food delivery, dark kitchens, and online grocery are very hot changing its mindset because of this. This is going to foster
right now. Those solutions that mix comfort, ease, and investments in solutions focused on traceability, water
affordability are getting more and more traction from users management, and carbon neutrality. We also predict that we
and investors. are going to have a second wave of ag fintech - including not
only lending and risk management platforms, but also
HC: As regards upstream technologies, 2021 was a year of blockchain-based solutions.
momentum for ag biotech and alternative proteins. Globally,
social and environmental consciousness is bolstering
investments in these sectors.
BM: As we were expecting, ag fintech solutions started a new

wave of entrepreneurship. Traceability has also appeared on
the scene, as startups and companies come to understand
the importance of tracking what happens along the whole
supply chain.

HC: Latin America has the opportunity to further strengthen its

DEALS BY GEOGRAPHY
U.S. Investments: Number of Deals By State Map
1084

DEALS BY GEOGRAPHY
U.S. Investments : Value of Investments by State

⇢ California’s continued dominance on the global
agrifoodtech investment scene is tied to both its
agricultural and venture capital roots.
⇢ Boston’s thriving tech startup scene – particularly in

bioengineering, robotics, and AI – buoys
Massachusetts, though it was out-paced this year by
Pennsylvania and New York. $9.7B
⇢ Pennsylvania’s second-place position is due to

Philadelphia-based eGrocer goPuff’s $2bn in funding.
⇢ New York’s agrifoodtech ecosystem is far more

diversified. Its top 10 deals include six upstream
businesses, such as vertical farmer Bowery, Midstream
Tech venture Augury, biomaterials company Modern
Meadow, and climate insights provider Gro
Intelligence.
$2.5B $2.6B
⇢ Investors backed 50 rounds of funding to Illinois-based
startups, including alt-protein company Nature’s Fynd.
$1.1B $1.1B
$0.6B
$0.3B $0.3B $0.5B
$0.1B $0.1B $0.1B $0.2B $0.2B $0.2B $0.2B $0.2B $0.2B $0.2B
MN GA AZ MD OH MT FL TX WI WA VA NC CO OR IL MA NY PA CA

Investor Activity
Image Courtesy of Hyphen

INVESTOR ACTIVITY
Most Active Accelerator Funds

RANK INVESTOR LOCATION # INVESTMENTS
1 SOSV Princeton, NJ 63*
2 Y Combinator Mountain View, CA 48*
3 TechStars Global 41*
4 Big Idea Ventures Singapore, New York, US 30
5 GROW Accelerator Singapore 20
The Yield Lab

6 Global 12
Plug & Play Ventures
500 Startups San Francisco, CA

7 Rockstart Agrifood Amsterdam, The Netherlands 10
SVG Partners/THRIVE Los Gatos, CA
GLOCAL Rosario, Argentina

8 6
Alchemist Accelerator San Francisco, CA
*includes investments made by multiple accelerators and/or follow-on funds

INVESTOR ACTIVITY
Most Active Venture Capital Fund Managers*

RANK INVESTOR LOCATION # INVESTMENTS
1 S2G Ventures Chicago, IL 39
2 Tiger Global Management New York, NY 30
AgFunder San Francisco, CA

4 22
Global Founders Capital Berlin, Germany
5 Omnivore Mumbai, India 18

Alexandria Venture Investments Durham, NC
6 16
Temasek Singapore
Gaingels Burlington, Vermont
7 15
10X Capital New York, NY
CPT Capital London, UK

GGV Capital Menlo Park, CA
8 Sand Hill Angels Mountain View, CA 14
FJ Labs New York, NY
DST Global London, UK
Astanor Ventures London, UK

9 13
SoftBank Vision Fund Tokyo, Japan
Continental Grain New York, NY

10 12
Innova Memphis Memphis, TN
*by number of companies invested in, including follow-ons

EXITS
Image Courtesy of Innate Biology

EXITS
AgriFoodTech M&A Insights

In 2021, the agrifoodtech scene saw plenty of M&A activity, in &ever; in doing so, it expanded its international footprint –
spite of continuing Covid-19 tailwinds and general economic particularly in Asia – and enhanced its tech capabilities.
uncertainty.
On the foodtech side, among the most significant M&A deals
The year's largest agtech acquisition was US irrigation was JBS’s acquisition of Spanish cultivated meat startup
equipment manufacturer Valmont’s $300m purchase of Israeli BioTech Foods. The Brazilian meatpacking giant made the
crop analytics startup Prospera, announced in May. It marked purchase as part of a wider $100m investment into cellular
the latest in a string of M&A transactions completed Valmont agriculture and represented the first publicly-disclosed
in 2020. Other major transactions with known values included acquisition of a cell-cultured protein startup by a traditional
John Deere‘s $250m acquisition of AgFunder-backed farm meat processor. Earlier in the year, JBS shelled out $409m to
equipment ‘upfitter’ Bear Flag Robotics; and Scott’s Miracle- acquire Netherlands plant-based brand Vivera; both deals
Gro’s $215m buyout of indoor ag lighting provider Luxx. are examples of how conventional protein providers are
accelerating investment in alt-protein to try secure market
Two companies pursuing ‘roll-up’ strategies in recent years
share and meet environmental obligations. We expect to see
continued in 2021: Telus Agriculture, the agtech unit of
more legacy meat companies buying alt-protein in 2022.
Canadian communications giant Telus, followed up on its
2020 M&A spree by forming a joint venture with Rabobank to These tables were turned in December when The Urgent
acquire US-based farm management software platform Company – an affiliate of precision fermented dairy startup
Conservis in July. Another roll-up specialist, Israel’s CropX, Perfect Day – acquired ice cream brand Coolhaus. This
bought Dutch counterpart Dacom in August – a transaction appears to be the first time that an alt-protein company has
which significantly boosted its European presence. taken over a conventional protein counterpart.
In Novel Farming Systems, US-based vertical farm operator Please note that financial details of M&As are rarely publicly
Kalera acquired Vindara – which it says is the only seed disclosed. You can assume that is the case for any missing
company dedicated to controlled environment agriculture – below. In our lists of 2021 agrifoodtech exits and M&A, we
in February. In August, it paid $153m for German counterpart have focused on deals involving VC-backed companies.

EXITS
Select AgriFoodTech M&A Deals | 2021

Target Target country Acquirer Acquirer Country AgFunder Category Est. Price
Prospera Technologies Israel Valmont Industries US Farm Management Software $300M
Bear Flag Robotics US John Deere US Farm Robotics $250M
Luxx Lighting US Scotts Miracle-Gro US Novel Farming Systems $215M
&ever Germany Kalera US Novel Farming Systems $153M
American Robotics US Ondas Networks US Farm Robotics $70.6M
Vandersat The Netherlands Planet US Farm Management Software $28M
Poultry Sense UK Merck Animal Health US Farm Management Software
FarmlandFinder US EasyKnock US Miscellaneous (Real Estate)
Soil Metrics US Indigo US MISCELLANEOUS (CARBON MRV)?

Telus Agriculture Canada
Conservis US Farm Management Software
Rabobank The Netherlands
Root AI US AppHarvest US Farm Robotics
FarmLogs US Bushel US Farm Management Software
GrainBridge US Bushel US Farm Management Software
Artemis US iUNU US Farm Management Software
Altrac US Semios Canada Farm Management Software
BrightFarms US Cox Enterprises US Novel Farming Systems

EXITS
Select AgriFoodTech M&A Deals | 2021 (cont.)

Target Target country Acquirer Acquirer Country AgFunder Category
Dacom The Netherlands CropX Israel Farm Management Software
AcreValue US Ag-Analytics US Miscellaneous (Real Estate)
Freshmart Peru Jüsto Mexico eGrocery
Midnight Robotics Israel FieldIn Israel Farm Robotics
Gaia Foods Singapore Shiok Meats Singapore Innovative Foods
ImpactVision US Apeel Sciences US Midstream Technologies
BoosterAgro Argentina AgroSmart Brazil Farm Management Software
Protifarm The Netherlands Ÿnsect France Novel Farming Systems
Farm Market iD US DTN US Farm Management Software
FarmGuide India DeHaat India Farm Management Software
Dagan US FluroSat (now Regrow) US Farm Management Software
BioTech Foods Spain JBS Brazil Innovative Foods

Soil Value Exchange (now
PastureMap US US Farm Management Software
Grassroots Carbon)
xFarm Italy Farm Technologies Italy Farm Management Software
Vindara US Kalera US Novel Farming Systems

EXITS
A Decade of Agtech M&A

The graphic on this page, courtesy of Verdant Partners,
illustrates several of the most active agtech acquirers over
the past 10 years.
As indicated, buying activity really ramped in 2021, with

several companies making the lion's share of their
acquisitions last year.
A glance at the graphic highlights how established ag

companies are turning to tech M&A in order to diversify
their offerings and stay on the cutting edge of the
industry.
Valmont, for example – a veteran in irrigation equipment –

has acquired several farm data platforms in recent years,
including its $300m purchase of Israel's Prospera in
2021. Meanwhile, traditional tractor maker John Deere
has acquired startups working on vehicle electrification
and automation – including AgFunder-backed Bear Flag
Robotics last year in a $250m deal.
This bleeding of the edges looks set to accelerate in the

coming years, as more non-ag players buy into the
industry; Canada's Telus, as shown here, has already
started.
*based on projected totals

EXITS
AgriFoodTech IPO & SPAC Deals 2021

2021 has seen more agrifoodtech companies go public be little likelihood of seeing similar overseas IPOs
than in any previous year. involving China's growing number of agrifoodtech
giants in the years ahead.
That's in large part down to the arrival on the scene of
special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) - While the majority of IPOs involved foodtech
publicly listed shell corporations that raise funds to companies; in agtech, Canadian farm management
acquire existing private businesses, taking them public platform Farmers Edge raised $91.7 million in its March
via 'reverse merger.' float,
High-profile SPAC deals last year involved the likes of One company on our list (next page), Bistroo,
biotech platforms Benson Hill, Ginkgo Bioworks, and conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) in May, raising
Greenlight Biosciences (the latter being an AgFunder proceeds equivalent to just over $9 million at the time.
portfolio company); as well as indoor farming operators
AppHarvest and Local Bounti. ICO's involve the sale of a blockchain-based platform's
native cryptocurrency to investors. However, they are at
It was also a bumper year for companies opting to go the mercy of crypto price instability and are not
the conventional IPO route; 2021's biggest agrifoodtech externally regulated.
IPO was for food delivery app Deliveroo, which raised
$1.98 billion at the start of the year. Alt-protein also got
another big-ticket IPO, with Swedish alt-milk maker Oatly
raising $1.4 billion in May.
Two of China's biggest agrifoodtech ventures –

eGrocers Dingdong Maicai and Missfresh – listed on US
markets last year; geopolitical rancor means there may

EXITS
Select AgriFoodTech Public Offerings 2021

Company Headquarters AgFunder Category Date Type Amount Raised (USD)
Deliveroo UK Restaurant Marketplace Mar IPO $1.98B
Ginkgo Bioworks US Midstream Technologies Sep SPAC $1.63B
Oatly Sweden Innovative Foods May IPO $1.4B
Toast US In-Store Restaurant & Retail Tech Sep IPO $870M
Zymergen US Midstream Technologies Apr IPO $530M?
Olo US In-Store Restaurant & Retail Tech Mar IPO $450M
Benson Hill US Ag Biotech May SPAC $403M
Local Bounti US Novel Farming Systems Jun SPAC $275M
Missfresh China eGrocery Jun IPO $273M
Boxed US eGrocery Jun SPAC $259M
Greenlight Biosciences US Ag Biotech Aug SPAC $173M
AppHarvest US Novel Farming Systems Feb SPAC $100M
Dingdong Maicai China eGrocery Jun IPO $95.7M
Farmers Edge Canada Farm Management Software Mar IPO $91.7M
Biotalys Belgium Ag Biotech Jul IPO $54.6M
Agrify US Novel Farming Systems Jan IPO $54M
DayDayCook Hong Kong Home & Cooking Tech Aug SPAC $40M
NRGene Israel Ag Biotech Jan IPO $25.6M

Sources & Methodology
Image courtesy of Lavva

WHAT IS AGRIFOODTECH?
What is AgriFoodTech?
Agrifoodtech is the small but growing segment of the startup food safety and traceability, farm efficiency and profitability, and
and venture capital universe that’s aiming to improve or disrupt unsustainable meat production.
the global food and agriculture industry.
There are many ways to categorize agrifoodtech startups
As with all industries, technology plays a key role in the highlighting the complexity of the industry. See page 16 for
operation of the agrifood sector – a $7.8 trillion industry, more information on our categorization system, which we
responsible for feeding the planet and employing well over 40% developed in consultation with venture capitalists,
of the global population. The pace of innovation has not kept up entrepreneurs, and other industry experts.
with other industries and today agriculture remains the least
digitized of all major industries, according to McKinsey.
The industrial agrifood sector is also less efficient than other

industries, with an increasing number of demands and
constraints being placed on it. These pressures include a
growing global population; climate change and global warming;
environmental degradation; changing consumer demands;
limited natural resources; food waste; consumer health issues;
and chronic disease.
The need for agrifoodtech innovation is greater than ever. This

creates many opportunities for entrepreneurs and technologists
to disrupt the industry and create new efficiencies at various
points in the value chain.
Broadly speaking, agrifoodtech startups are aiming to solve the

following challenges: food waste, CO2 emissions, chemical
residues and run-off, drought, labor shortages, health and sugar
consumption, opaque supply chains, distribution inefficiencies,

SOURCES

Data Sources & Curation That’s had a recalibrating effect on this year’s investment figures as
Utilizing new advanced machine-learning algorithms and artificial well as some past data. Examples include logistics, drones, cloud
intelligence to help identify and categorize agrifoodtech startups, and any other tech services that may have started in agrifood but
our knowledge base has grown to over 29,939 companies, with have since added other sectors or pivoted away from agrifood.
new startups and historical data being added each day. We’ve maintained historical rounds that were raised on an agrifood
focus, where we could.
The raw data for our reports comes from Crunchbase, which
gathers publicly-available information such as press releases and While we are happy to share our findings, we reserve all rights with
US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as well as respect to AgFunder research and this report and we require it to
crowdsourcing directly from the industry. AgFunder contributes be fully and accurately cited when any of the data, charts, or
data from its own collection methods, including private commentary are used.
communications with investors and companies. We also collect
data from partners across the globe (see page 57 below) to ensure Undisclosed Financings
we have the most comprehensive, accurate and curated dataset Of the 3155 financings in this report’s curated dataset, 857 were
and knowledge base of agrifoodtech companies and undisclosed and could not be determined through research or
investments. direct sources. We exclude undisclosed financings when
computing averages and median values. In some cases, we’re able
The raw data are painstakingly curated by the AgFunder team to to confidentially obtain financing figures directly from investors on
ensure they are relevant, accurate, up-to-date, and categorized the condition they’re only included in aggregate.
according to AgFunder’s proprietary tagging system.
We update and improve our dataset continuously throughout the Multiple Financings
year, meaning total figures from previous years’ reports will shift as In some cases, Crunchbase displays multiple financings for the
our dataset becomes more complete. same company in the same year. This can be because a company
closes subsequent rounds in the same year, but it can also be the
In 2022, we tightened our definitions of what constitutes an result of several closes of the same round. We keep them separate
agrifoodtech venture to ensure that the emphasis on food and unless they are announced as one single round.
agriculture is core to the business.

SOURCES

Categorization We’ve also taken taken a stricter stance on cannabis and CBD-
related startups; there needs to be clear proprietary technology
AgFunder’s categorization system is designed to capture broad
involved. We will not include pure consumer packaged goods or
themes across the complex agrifoodtech value chain (see page 15
pure production, as we wouldn’t include pure production in any
for a list of categories). The agrifood sector has a wide supply chain
other crop. If we believe the growing facilities are particularly high
spanning inputs and industrials, farming, logistics, wholesale
tech or utilize proprietary technology, we will still include it in our
distribution, processing, retail distribution, and the consumer. In
Novel Farming Systems category. The same goes for processed
many cases, technologies such as marketplaces connect different
products; if the extraction technique is particularly innovative, we’ll
links in the supply chain and so in this report we’ve chosen to focus
include it as a Biomaterials or Midstream Tech startup. Large
on high-level themes. To assist with the categorization and to avoid
vertically-integrated cannabis companies are also excluded.
subjectivity, AgFunder first employs over 150 machine learning
and artificial intelligence models to suggest category placement
and to help tag the company according to the technology and its
Special Acknowledgement
place in the supply chain. Finally, the AgFunder team manually Special thanks to Tim Li, Ellen Ehrsam, and the rest of the
reviews the suggestions for each company, often with significant Crunchbase team for their support and assistance.
research and debate among our team.
In 2019, we added a new category, Cloud Retail Infrastructure, to

relieve the Midstream Tech category of ‘later-stream’ deals we felt
no longer fit. Cloud Retail Infrastructure includes the growing
number of technologies enabling companies to provide customers
with on-demand, at-home dining such as ghost kitchens and last-
mile delivery services including delivery robots.

SOURCES
Our International Data Partners

In addition to our partnership with Crunchbase, we’ve partnered with several groups from around the world to help us collect more
international data at the local level to ensure we can present the most comprehensive data set in the industry. Our partners for the
2019 report include Start-up Nation Central in Israel, SP Ventures in Brazil, Glocal in Argentina, Bits x Bites in China, ShakeUp
Factory in Europe, and Omnivore in India. Special thanks to Kevin Camphius for his invaluable curation help.
Europe
Israel
China
South America India

Data@AgFunder.com or
Are we missing your data? add direct onto
Don’t forget to send it to us! Crunchbase.com
Image courtesy of Hwy Haul

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2022

Are you a corporate, startup, or investor?

in 2022 In this year’s report, AgFunder made some adjustments

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 3

Cover & Section Images

CH4 Global is leading the development Hyphen robotic restaurant

Modern Synthesis manufactures a Innate Biology is developing

Umaro Foods is transforming seaweed Aigen is building solar-

Cargamos is revolutionizing same-day Hwy Haul is a digital platform

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 4

Image courtesy of Umaro Foods

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 7

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 8

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 9

Annual Financings | 2012-2021

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 10

Annual Financings | 2012-2021

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 11

Deal Count | 2012-2021

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 12

Median Deal Size | 2012-2020

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 13

Image courtesy of Aigen

AgriFoodTech Category Definitions

Agribusiness Marketplaces In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech

Bioenergy & Biomaterials Restaurant Marketplaces

Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT eGrocery

Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Equipment Home & Cooking Tech

Midstream Technologies Online Restaurants & Mealkits

Novel Farming Systems Cloud Retail Infrastructure

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 15

2021 Deal Volume and Activity by Category

$18.5B 424 # Deals

$4.8B $4.8B 130

*for category icons, see p 16

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 16

2021 Deal Volume and Activity by Category ex-China

*for category icons, see p 16

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 17

In-store Retail & Restaurant Tech

4.4% Restaurant Marketplaces

5.8% Bioenergy & Biomaterials

7.3% Online Restaurants & Mealkits

Farm Mgmt SW, Sensing & IoT

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 18

Category Deal Activity 2020 vs 2021

2022 AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 19

Join us and leading global LPs in the second

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Top Ag Biotech Deals Top Novel Farming Systems Deals

Pivot Bio $430M Bowery Farming Inc $300M

AgFunder portfolio company

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Top Farm Management Software Top Agribusiness Marketplaces

Gro Intelligence $85M Farmers Business… $300M

CiBO Technologies $30M

AgFunder portfolio company

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Top Innovative Food Deals

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