Startup news and deals
🇩🇪 🚚 Flink, a German startup and the last-standing European quick-commerce player, raised $150M to strengthen its market presence in Germany and the Netherlands. Flink has raised a total of $1.5B. Its valuation was once about $5B, but it’s below $1B at this round. While this must be hard on previous investors, the good news is that Flink has broken even (in EBITDA) in both of its core markets, showing that there is still a path forward for quick commerce in Europe.
🇩🇰 🍄 MATR Foods, a Danish startup, raised €20M to build its first large-scale facility for producing meat alternatives through fungi fermentation.
🇳🇿💨 Lucidome Bio, a New Zealand startup, raised $13.5M to reduce cows’ methane emissions with a vaccine.
🇺🇸🍄 Ecovative, a US startup, raised $28M to expand the distribution of its mycelium-based food product, MyBacon, and launch alternative leather materials. It is interesting to see companies using alternative protein technologies in applications beyond food. That’s something we see more and more in health-related ingredients but also in materials.
🇺🇸🧬 Arzeda, a US startup, raised $38M for its AI-driven protein design technology for creating natural sweeteners and other products.
🇺🇸🌾 Pairwise, a US startup raised $40M for its gene-editing technology (such as CRISPR) that improves crop traits for better yield and resilience.
🇬🇧 🐾 Tuggs, a British startup, raised £1.1M for its insect-based pet food products dedicated to dogs. Unlike other players, the startup’s products are a blend, using insects as well as meat and fish.
🇺🇸 🌾 Lil Bucks, a US startup, raised $3M for its sprouted buckwheat-based food products.
🇫🇷 🍽️ Willy anti-gaspi, a French startup, raised €2.3M to expand its anti-waste e-commerce platform dedicated to surplus food.
🇬🇧🍔 Delli, a UK foodtech startup, raised £4.6M for its online grocery platforms that allows users to buy artisanal food and drinks, from pastries to wine.
🇨🇦🦠 Catalera BioSciences, a Canadian startup, raised $8M for its biological crop protection solutions and the development of a range of biopesticides and biocontrols.
🇫🇷 🧀 Standing Ovation, a French startup, raised €3.75M to scale up production of its animal-free casein (through precision fermentation), aiming for a 2025 product launch.
Regulation & public support
🇩🇰 🌐 Agreena, the Danish (and European) leading carbon credit platform announced a partnership with IFC (International Finance Corporation), a part of the World Bank Group. The goal is to support farmers in developing countries and help them adopt sustainable practices through the incentives of Agreena’s carbon credits. This is highly relevant as for now, regenerative agriculture and the adoption of sustainable practices through incentives has mostly been seen in developed economies. As many emerging countries, notably the poorest, are on the verge of their own “green revolution” (the massive use of nitrogen-based inputs and the expansion of livestock farming) to feed their growing population, helping them to “jump” to sustainable practices will be key to achieve our collective sutainability goals.
