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14 FoodTech news to know this week (2024 – week #44)

Published on October 29, 2024

Startup news and deals

🇺🇸 🚜 Carbon Robotics, a US startup, raised $70M to scale the production and commercialisation of its weeding robots. Like many players, it has evolved from autonomous robots to a trailer put behind a tractor.

🇩🇰 🚜 FarmDroid, a Danish startup, raised €10.5M for its solar-powered weeding robots.

🇬🇧 🧫 Microlub, a US startup, raised £3.5M to commercialise its fat-replacement technology for plant-based foods.

🇫🇷 🍺 Hubcycle, a French startup, raised €15M for its upcycling marketplace companies with food byproducts with those that can create value out of it. A great success for the upcycling ecosystem, which is increasingly moving from B2C to B2B players (with high-value ingredients and marketplaces).

🇫🇷 💥 Farmitoo, a French startup operating a marketplace specialised in agricultural equipment and spare parts, is shutting down. It had raised about €15M, and this comes as an additional blow to a part of the AgriFoodTech ecosystem, which was considered “safe” (e-commerce B2B models not relying on heavy R&D investments).

🇫🇷 🇸🇬 Vital Meat, a French meat startup, held a tasting in Singapore in anticipation of regulatory approval expected to arrive “very soon”. Unlike most cellular agriculture startups, it chose an accessible location rather than a fancy restaurant and a Michelin-star chef to position its future products.

🇫🇷 🌱 C&DAC, a French startup, raised €1.6M for its fermented legume flours for plant-based food applications.

🇮🇳🌾 BioPrime, an Indian startup, raised $6M for its bio-based agricultural solutions.

🇨🇭🌾 Umami Farms, a Swiss startup, raised CHF 4.3M to scale its premium microgreens indoor farming operations.

🇫🇷🍴 La Belle Vie, a French startup, raised €2.8M for its online grocery delivery platform.

🇺🇸 📦 Solubag, a Chilean startup, raised $4.5M for its biodegradable plastic alternatives that dissolve in water.

🇳🇱 📉 TAPP, a Dutch startup providing data insights for the foodservice industry, declared bankruptcy due to financial difficulties. It had raised €3M last year.

🇺🇸 🤖 Simbe Robotics, an American startup, raised $28M for its autonomous retail robots checking prices and inventory through stores.

🇬🇧💊 Bioniq, a British startup developing personalized health supplements, raised an investment from Cristiano Ronaldo, bringing its valuation to €75.7M.

 

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