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14 FoodTech news to know this week (2025 – week #36)

Published on September 1, 2025

💸 Funding News

🇦🇪 📈 Maalexi, a UAE-based startup, secured a $20M Shariah-compliant facility to develop its B2B platform that enables cross-border agriculture commodity trading.

 

🇯🇵 🧬 Fermelanta, a Japanese startup, raised $13.6M to develop its microbial fermentation technology that produces complex plant compounds. Its pipeline includes speciality ingredients for the food industry.

 

🇺🇸 🌰 NuCicer, a US-based startup, raised $11.5M to scale its high-protein chickpea varieties (containing up to 35% protein).

 

🇳🇱 🎙️ Vox AI, a Dutch startup, raised $8.7M to bring voice-AI to fast food drive-thrus.

 

🇮🇳 🐖 WasteLink, an Indian startup, raised $3M to turn food surplus into sustainable animal feed.

 

🇳🇱 🧠 Toppi, a Dutch startup, raised nearly €1M to scale its digital tools for bars and restaurants.

 

🔄 Acquisitions, Partnerships & Bankruptcies

🇺🇸 🤖 John Deere acquired GUSS Automation, a US startup, adding autonomous sprayers to its growing portfolio of robotic startups.

 

🇬🇧 🧫 CellRev, a UK startup, is shutting down. The startup, which was developing ingredients for cultivated meat, says it wasn’t able to deliver commercial milestones quickly enough to raise new funds.

 

🇺🇸 🏚️ Rescale, a US co-manufacturing platform for CPG brands, shut down just a year after raising $2.3M.

 

🇳🇱 🌱 Vegan Finest Foods, based in the Netherlands, filed for bankruptcy. The company was behind plant-based brands such as Vegan Zeastar, which faced a decline in demand.

 

📊 Leading Companies & Macro Trends

🇺🇸 🚗 Robomart, a US startup, unveiled a new on-demand mobile store robot with a $3 flat delivery fee, targeting grocery and convenience. If this business model can scale, it could help meet the growing demand for robotic delivery.

 

🇺🇸 🍔 On a diet? Avoid ultra-processed foods (UPF). A recent study has shown that UPFs can slow weight loss. This clinical study involved participants who were given strict instructions on what to eat (something rare enough to be underlined, as most studies on food rely on what participants report having eaten). While the number of studies piles up, the combination of rising public awareness and the current push against processed foods in the US should make the industry move faster.

 

🇺🇸 🧃 A WSJ columnist reported surprising results after removing ultra-processed foods (UPFs) for a month: sleep, mood, and appetite control improved. This kind of first-person storytelling could accelerate consumer awareness.

 

🇨🇳 🛵 There is a food delivery war in China. Current leaders, notably Meituan, are facing the emergence of deep-pocketed competitors, such as ByteDance’s Douyin and Alibaba. The price war is severe enough to have an impact on Alibaba’s earnings. Should we expect a new price war in other markets?

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