Weekly AgriFoodTech Update: Remora Robotics secures $16 million investment, Big Idea Ventures announces new group of startups, and Austria plans to prohibit cultured meat production
The agri-food sector continues to evolve, with significant developments in regulatory updates, technological innovations, strategic investments, and policy reforms. Here's a roundup of the latest news from Brazil, Europe, and the United States.
Brazil
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has made a strategic investment in Agrolend, a Brazilian agri-fintech company. This investment aims to improve financial inclusion, operational efficiency, and productivity in Brazil’s agricultural sector, aligning with sustainability and climate goals. [2]
Europe
A partnership between Estonian firm Arbonics and Swedish company Treebula was established to accelerate the Gradable platform, which combines AI-driven forest analysis to enable private forest owners to access carbon markets. The European Commission released a new agri-food strategy with some support for agtech but with calls for more substantial financial incentives for farmers. [1]
In the UK, reports highlight growing demand for data, circular innovation, and better market access for precision-bred commodities. Lockyer Valley Foods in Australia, close to Europe’s agtech innovation context, is raising $50 million in Series A funding for a fruit and vegetable processing facility. [4]
United States
The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture reauthorized the United States Grain Standards Act, ensuring regulatory continuity that supports fair and competitive grain markets. Hearings emphasized the importance of modernizing regulatory processes to facilitate adoption of crop protection products, gene editing, biologicals, and biostimulants. [1]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its imports review policy: all FDA-regulated products, regardless of value or quantity, now require admissibility review, affecting imports, especially low-value products to the U.S. [1][3]
A contentious animal welfare law is reportedly impacting small farmers and raising pork prices, reflecting ongoing policy debates.
Canada
Agreement was reached among agriculture ministers to enhance the AgriStability program for 2025 by increasing compensation rates and doubling the payment cap to better protect farmers facing trade challenges, especially with China and the U.S. Future improvements may include new valuation methods for on-farm inventory and eligibility expansions for feed costs. [3]
Innovations and Investments
In the consumer packaged goods industry, Acre Venture Partners invested in GenAI for new product development. The Gates Foundation invested in Puna Bio to bring extremophile-based ag biologicals to Africa. [5]
BiomEdit, a company based in the USA, raised $18.4m in Series B funding for its designer probiotics platform. Solar Foods signed an LOI to supply up to 1,650 tons of Solein protein annually for the health and performance market. [6]
Regulatory Developments
The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the USDA for records over 'misleading' Beef Checkoff environmental claims. The FDA plans to revoke 52 obsolete standards of identity for food products. The EU Commission proposed banning meat-like terms on plant-based labels. [7]
Austria presented a petition to ban cultivated meat at the European Parliament. In the US, the USDA cancelled more support for regional food systems. The FDA updated its imports review policy. [7]
Corporate News
McDonald's Austria removed McPlant from its menu due to decline in consumer interest. Skittles maker Mars is being investigated in Texas for failing to remove artificial food dyes. [8]
Bayer AG's CEO Bill Anderson's contract was extended by the Supervisory Board. Trump nominated Callahan for USTR chief ag negotiator. [9]
Regrow and DENSO Expand Agritech Strategies
Soil science company Regrow partnered with Embrapa, Brazil’s leading ag research organization, to advance climate-smart agriculture in Brazil. DENSO, a Japanese company, acquired Axia Vegetable Seeds to advance its agritech strategy. [10]
Remora Robotics Scales AI Net-Cleaning Capacity
Remora Robotics, a company based in Norway, secured €13.9 million to scale its AI net-cleaning capacity. [11]
Misfits Market Expands into Household Goods
Misfits Market launched a household goods category, signaling broader trends in the agri-food sector. [12]
ODOS Collects Funds for Sustainability in Agri-Food Sector
ODOS, a Spanish startup, raised €680k for sustainability in the agri-food sector with their data-collection platform. [13]
These developments illustrate a dynamic global agri-food sector with significant regulatory updates, technological innovations, strategic investments, and policy reforms designed to enhance sustainability, productivity, and market stability across major regions.
[1] https://www.agweb.com/article/fda-revamps-import-review-policy-what-it-means-for-agriculture [2] https://www.reuters.com/business/agriculture-food/japans-jica-invests-brazils-agrolend-support-farmers-2021-11-09/ [3] https://www.agriculture.gov.ca/en/newsroom/news-releases/2021/2021-08-19-agri-stability-program [4] https://www.agfundernews.com/2021/10/lockyer-valley-foods-raises-50m-series-a-for-fruit-vegetable-processing-facility/ [5] https://www.acre.vc/press-releases/acre-venture-partners-invests-in-genai-to-accelerate-product-innovation-in-the-consumer-packaged-goods-industry [6] https://www.solfoods.fi/news/solar-foods-signs-loi-to-supply-solein-protein-annually-for-the-health-and-performance-market [7] https://aldf.org/press-releases/aldf-sues-usda-for-records-over-misleading-beef-checkoff-environmental-claims/ [8] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/08/mcdonalds-austria-drops-plant-based-mcplant-burger-from-menu.html [9] https://www.reuters.com/business/bayer-extends-ceo-andersons-contract-supervisory-board-2021-11-09/ [10] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/denso-acquires-axia-vegetable-seeds-advance-agritech-strategy-2021-11-09/ [11] https://www.reuters.com/business/europe/norwegian-startup-remora-robotics-raises-14m-ai-net-cleaning-capacity-2021-11-09/ [12] https://www.misfitsmarket.com/blog/misfits-market-launches-household-goods-category [13] https://www.agfundernews.com/2021/11/odos-raises-680k-for-sustainability-in-the-agri-food-sector/
- The collaboration between Arbonics (Estonian firm) and Treebula (Swedish company) falls under the category of technology in the education-and-self-development sector as they are combining AI-driven forest analysis to enable private forest owners to access carbon markets, which aligns with environmental sustainability goals.
- In the general news, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States made an update in its imports review policy, stating that all FDA-regulated products, regardless of value or quantity, now require admissibility review, potentially affecting various sectors including technology and the agri-food industry.
