๐ฉ๐ชย ๐ Infinite Roots, a German startup, raised $58M for its mycelium fermentation platform. Compared to other players in the space, the startup doesnโt plan to operate its own factories. instead, it works with contract manufacturers.
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฒ Freja, a British startup, raised ยฃ2M for its bone broth brand. The success of this brand, and beyond, of bone broth used for nutrition rather than enhancing recipes, shows the unwavering appetite of consumers for healthy and better-for-you products.
๐บ๐ธ ๐ฑ Neatleaf, an American startup, raised $4M for its cultivation solutions for agriculture that combine AI, data, and robotics.
๐บ๐ธย ๐ชย Walmart closed its internal incubator Store Nยฐ8. Created 7 years ago as a separate business unit, it was intended as a place to experiment with new ideas, not immediately profitable. This type of innovation hub has gone out of fashion in recent years, as it didnโt often deliver tangible value for corporations.
๐ณ๐ฑ๐ Protix, a Dutch startup, received a โฌ37M loan from the European Investment Bank to expand its insect production. With this funding, it will build a new facility in Poland. Protix seems to be the (current) clear leader in the field of insect proteins, with the only operational facility in Europe among the three giants (which all received hundreds of millions), and plans to open facilities in the US and now in Eastern Europe.
๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ค Bluewhite, an Israeli startup, raised โฌ39M for its robotics technology that enables the retrofit of existing tractors into autonomous robots. Thatโs quite smart, as it reduces the upfront cost for farmers and significantly reduces the risk associated with hardware production (for the startup) while creating a SaaS-like business model for the startup.
๐บ๐ธย ๐ Aniai, an American startup, raised โฌ12M for its burger-cooking robots.
๐ซ๐ทย ๐บย Carrefour and Netflix are testing a combined subscription, which will give access to โCarrefour Plusโ (granting a 10% discount on the retailerโs private label products) and Netflix.
๐บ๐ธ๐ Elo Life Systems, an American startup, raised $20.5M to grow the adoption of monk fruit as a natural sweetener.
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฑ IGS, a British startup, raised $28.5M for its vertical farm technology. With the funds, it will open a large farm in the United Arab Emirates. The country is becoming a new hub for vertical farming, as many startups are opening or planning to open facilities there.
๐ฉ๐ฐย โ Kaffe Bueno, a Danish startup, raised โฌ6.2M to scale its production of products based on upcycled coffee grounds. ย into high-value products for global niche markets.
๐ฐ๐ช๐พ Shamba Pride, a Kenyan startup, raised $3.7M for its agriculture platform, which provides data-driven insights and innovative solutions to farmers.
