AgTech and FoodTech

Imagindairy’s proprietary technology recreates nature-identical, animal-free versions of whey and casein proteins that can be used to produce dairy analogs. They have the flavor and texture – and, importantly, the functionality and nutritional value – of their animal-based counterparts. This opens new opportunities to develop a full range of non-dairy products that perfectly mimic dairy versions yet contain no cholesterol, or GMO’s. They also are lactose-free, serving consumers with lactose intolerance or sensitivity. At the same time, the proprietary technology radically lowers the burden of dairy livestock on the environment.

Through advanced artificial intelligence (AI), automation and electric power, Carry streamlines the harvesting process with the ability to transport up to 500 pounds of crops on all terrain and in all inclement weather conditions – increasing production efficiency by up to 30% and paying for itself in only 80 days. Its machine learning and computer vision capabilities also allow the machine to avoid obstacles like trees and people and collect and apply data to further enhance its precision.

IBI-Ag is developing natural, single domain antibody insecticides to increase crop production without harm to farmers, consumers, and the environment. The use of single domain antibodies as active ingredients is an innovative approach for insect control, having unique potential to serve as a novel type of highly effective agents due to their small size, stability, high-affinity, high-specificity, ease of manipulation and production.

Pollination is one of the most important natural biological processes on our planet and an integral part of fruit production. Although 70% of fruit crops are dependent on insect pollination, the process is still poorly understood and not maximised for commercial output. Pollinators are declining globally due to factors threatening biodiversity, threatening the $500B of economic services they provide to the global economy.

This is the thing that ultimately got me most excited about it; today, most rice hulls worldwide are burned, so if we can stop burning hulls and turn it into a water filtration media, not only do you stop billions of pounds of greenhouse gases from being produced every year, but you’re sequestering carbon for the next 10,000 years.

Over 30,000+ edible plants can support global diets, yet over half  the world’s plant-based nutrition comes from just three crops. This  threat to global biodiversity in our fields and on our tables has put  our food systems at risk by endangering our health, impoverishing our  soils and weakening our response to climate change.

New initiatives are critical to feed and regenerate the planet; in response, farmers across the globe are reawakening by leading a return to traditional and once forgotten crops. Their  commitment to enhancing biodiversity offers a better path, one that will  create communities with greater economic self-reliance, enhanced food  security, lower health costs, and increased resilience in the face of  climate change.

Foodland Ventures, the VC and Accelerator building a global ecosystem of food tech  founders, held its first demo day on the 22nd of July and unveiled its  very first cohort consisting of 6 startups who are solving the food  industry’s most challenging problems. This is an exciting time in the  food tech space – the global food and agriculture markets are expected  to reach 6 and 9 trillion USD in 2021, respectively. And the role of  tech is rising, with the food and agriculture technology and products  market expected to grow from almost 500 billion to more than 700 billion  USD by 2026.

AgroScout announced today that it has completed a Series A investment round of  $7.5 million to expedite the development of its AI cloud platform for  remote agronomy, and to increase its accessibility to the 500 million  mostly unserved farms worldwide. The platform allows all growers – from  the biggest to the smallest – to efficiently comply with the rising  demand for sustainable crop protection and carbon accountability.

Those who follow the US agriculture sector are constantly seeing news  about innovations coupled with partnership and acquisition  announcements. It can be hard to distinguish technological breakthroughs  from hype. We hear swirling promises, feel lingering uncertainties, and  yearn for demonstrated technological proofs. How do ‘cold hard facts’  really affect the commercial trajectory of a new class of innovation?  And how can investors and industry players ‘read between the lines’ to  understand what’s going on?