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9 FoodTech news to know this week (2025 – week #12)

Published on March 18, 2025

Startup news and deals

🇧🇷 🌾  Grão Direto, a Brazilian startup, raised $15M for its digital trading platform for commodities (notably grain).

🇬🇧 🇸🇬 GlobalData, a UK-based analytics firm, acquired AI Palette, a Singapore-based startup using AI to forecast consumer trends.

🇮🇳 🌾 Scimplify, an Indian startup, raised $40M for its platforms connecting specialty chemicals manufacturers with clients in the pharma and agricultural industries.

🇮🇳 💧 Agros, an India-based startup, raised $4.25M to scale its solar-powered irrigation solution across Southeast Asia.

🇺🇸 🍄 Meati, a US startup having raised more than $100M for myceliym-based meat alternatives is announcing a large round of layoffs, and is now facing a situation where it has not enough funds to continue operations due to what it calls a “bank-induced crisis”.

🇩🇪 📦 Vytal, a German startup, raised €14.2M to scale its reusable packaging solutions for the foodservice industry, and expand it globally (notably by entering the US market).

🇫🇮 🐔SuperGround, a Finnish startup, raised €2.5M for its technology that utilises poultry side streams (bones and cartilage) to create sustainable food ingredients to be incorporated in processed foods (such as the finger foods on the left side of the picture).

🇬🇧 🐜 Beta Bugs, a UK based startup, which breeds black soldier flies for animal feed, raised £2.1M to expand its insect farming operations.

Beyond startups

🇺🇸 General Mills is pausing both its VC arm (301 Inc) and its innovation unit. Instead of taking minority participations in startups, the company seems to be refocusing on its core portfolio of brands. As for many other companies, it seems that General Mills had a hard time to leverage the innovations created by early-stage companies (either created internally or those it invested in).

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