The global agri-food ecosystem is no longer driven by scale alone — it is being reshaped by intelligence, resilience, automation, and sustainability.
This week’s edition highlights how capital is flowing into deep tech platforms that solve the most expensive problems in food and agriculture:
post-harvest losses, chemical dependency, disease outbreaks, carbon accountability, supply-chain complexity, and plastic waste.
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From AI-powered potato storage in Canada to UV-C vineyard robots in California, cell-based meat in Germany, bio-colors in Denmark, and enterprise agribusiness SaaS from India — the message is clear:
The future of food is data-driven, climate-aligned, and automation-first.
For founders, investors, and agribusiness leaders, these moves offer a real-time map of where next-generation agri-value chains are being built.
SVG Ventures | THRIVE Invests in Cellar Insights to Scale AI-Powered Potato Storage Monitoring
SVG Ventures | THRIVE has invested $500,000 in Calgary-based Cellar Insights through the SVG Ventures Pioneer Fund to accelerate the commercialization of its AI-powered potato storage monitoring technology. The company’s smart system helps growers and processors detect early spoilage risks by tracking gases, temperature, humidity, and CO₂, enabling timely action to reduce post-harvest losses. Cellar Insights gained momentum through SVG Ventures’ Alberta accelerator and has since expanded deployments across multiple Canadian provinces. A major milestone includes validation at FCC’s EMILI Innovation Farm Network in Manitoba, proving real-world performance at commercial scale. The new funding will support the company’s growth across North America and strengthen its path toward global adoption.
Saga Robotics Bets Big on Chemical-Free Vineyards with UV-C Robots
Saga Robotics is expanding in the US vineyard market with new leadership and fresh funding to scale its UV-C powered Thorvald robots. The company recorded a 10x increase in treated vineyard acreage in California in 2025 and expects to nearly triple it again in 2026. Its night-time UV-C technology offers a chemical-free alternative to fungicides, helping growers tackle powdery mildew more effectively. Rising resistance to chemicals and high labor costs are driving adoption of this autonomous solution. With a Robots-as-a-Service model and data-driven features, Saga is making sustainable and regenerative winegrowing more accessible.
Eat App Raises $10M to Scale Restaurant Tech in India
UAE-based foodtech Eat App has raised $10 million in a Series B extension led by PSG Equity via Zenchef, taking its total funding to over $23 million. India has emerged as a key growth market, with the platform scaling to more than 2,000 restaurants in just one year. To accelerate expansion, Eat App acquired ReserveGo and partnered with Swiggy to launch its restaurant growth suite under the GroMax brand. The platform helps restaurants unify reservations from multiple channels into one system and use data to improve capacity and guest experience. With India’s food service market expected to cross $85 billion by 2028, Eat App is positioning itself as a core technology partner for the country’s dine-in economy.
Innocent Meat Raises €6M to Build Automated Cell-Based Meat Platform
German biotech startup Innocent Meat has raised €6 million to develop its fully automated production system for cultivated meat and to begin building a demonstration facility. Founded in 2020, the company is creating an end-to-end, software-driven platform that allows meat processors to produce cell-based meat with minimal technical expertise. The funding will support scalable infrastructure, regulatory approvals, and the construction of a demo plant for potential customers. Existing investor GENIUS Venture Capital participated in the round, reaffirming confidence in the technology. Innocent Meat plans to enter the market in 2028 with a plug-and-play solution for traditional meat producers.
Octarine Bio Raises €5M to Scale Sustainable Bio-Based Colour Platform
Copenhagen-based Octarine Bio has secured an additional €5 million in Series A funding to accelerate industrial-scale validation and commercial rollout of its PurePalette natural pigment platform. The extension brings the company’s total Series A to €12.8 million, backed by both existing and new investors including DSM-Firmenich Ventures, The Footprint Firm, Edaphon, and former Novozymes leaders. The funding will help scale production of its first flagship colours, expand into new industries, and strengthen commercial partnerships. Octarine uses precision fermentation and biocatalysis to produce fully bio-based pigments that integrate into existing manufacturing systems. Its PurePalette platform delivers the full colour spectrum through a single sustainable process, reducing the environmental impact of traditional dyes.
Maia Farms Raises C$3.75M to Scale Health-Focused Mushroom & Mycelium Ingredients
Canada-based Maia Farms has raised C$3.75 million in an oversubscribed seed round to expand its fermentation-made mushroom and mycelium ingredient platform. The company is shifting toward a “farm to pharmacy” model, focusing on functional, nutrition-rich food ingredients for everyday products. Its patented fermentation and extrusion processes power meat alternatives, noodles, soups, and baked goods with lower costs and higher nutrition than conventional proteins. With over 20 products launched and capacity to supply up to 200,000 kg annually, Maia is scaling globally. The startup aims to position mycelium as a climate-friendly, health-first ingredient for the future of food.
Anzen Industries Raises $2.2M to Reinvent Chemical Manufacturing
UK-based deeptech startup Anzen Industries has secured $2.2 million in pre-seed funding to advance its cell-free biomanufacturing platform for producing complex chemicals. The company uses reusable enzyme reactors and AI-driven design to manufacture high-value molecules more efficiently than traditional synthesis or fermentation. Its technology reduces infrastructure, energy use, and production costs while strengthening global supply chain resilience. Backed by LocalGlobe, Creator Fund, and strategic angels, Anzen plans to relocate to the US and build its first manufacturing facility. The startup aims to make chemical production faster, scalable, and more sustainable through cell-free systems.
Notpla Secures €4M EU Funding to Create Plastic-Free Coffee Cups
Notpla has received €4 million in Horizon Europe funding, alongside 14 European partners, to develop fully natural, home-compostable coffee cups without plastic coatings. The project’s first phase will focus on material testing, product development, and scaling production for circular use. Notpla is already advancing real-world trials, including espresso cup pilots and plastic-free drink carriers in major venues. The company is also expanding commercial deployments across universities and events. This funding strengthens Notpla’s mission to replace single-use plastics with seaweed-based, sustainable packaging.
Barnwell Bio Raises $6M to Bring COVID-Style Bio-Surveillance to Poultry Farms
US-based startup Barnwell Bio has raised $6 million in seed funding to apply COVID-era bio-surveillance techniques to poultry barns, helping producers detect disease risks before outbreaks occur. Using metagenomic sequencing of barn foot swabs, the company creates a unique microbiome fingerprint for each facility, enabling early detection of pathogens like avian flu and tracking overall flock health. The platform shifts poultry health management from reactive firefighting to proactive, data-driven decision-making. Backed by partners such as Mississippi State University, Vital Farms, and West Liberty Foods, Barnwell Bio aims to build a powerful microbiome data asset with potential applications across other livestock sectors as well.
KhetiBuddy Launches Next-Gen Enterprise SaaS Platform for Agribusinesses
KhetiBuddy has launched Verdnt, a next-generation AI-native enterprise SaaS platform designed for mid-to-large agribusinesses operating across complex supply chains. Verdnt unifies farm operations, sustainability metrics, and enterprise workflows, enabling companies to move from retrospective reporting to proactive, data-driven decision-making.
The platform integrates agronomy, procurement, production planning, inventory, and compliance data, providing traceable, auditable, and explainable insights. Its AI models, trained on agronomic, climate, and regulatory data, support risk assessment and operational decisions while maintaining human oversight. Verdnt builds on KhetiBuddy’s global deployments, aiming to position farm intelligence as a core component of enterprise systems.
Proba Raises €1.25M to Take Scope 3 Emissions Certification to the US and Brazil
Proba, a climate-focused AgTech start-up, has raised €1.25 million to expand its Scope 3 emissions certification platform into the United States and Brazil. Backed by Future Food Fund, Yield Lab Europe, and Value Factory Ventures, the company focuses on certifying fertilizer-related emission reductions across major crop value chains like coffee, corn, sugar, and potatoes. Agriculture’s fertilizer use is a major source of global emissions, and Proba aims to make these reductions measurable, traceable, and financeable. The expansion will help global agri-food companies meet climate compliance goals with verified impact. Proba’s platform connects farmers, cooperatives, and food companies to scale credible climate action across the Americas.
Deep-tech Startup Aviwell Raises €11 Million in Series A Funding
France-based deep-tech startup Aviwell has raised €11 million in a Series A funding round led by Blue Revolution Fund, with participation from Blast.Club and SWEN Capital Partners. The funding will support the development of its microbiome-based solutions for poultry and aquaculture. Aviwell focuses on improving animal growth and food security through natural, sustainable, and cost-effective technologies. The company is built on over 30 years of academic research combining life sciences, data systems, and AI/ML. With proven lab and field results, Aviwell is now scaling commercially in global broiler chicken and aquaculture markets.
Editor’s Note
Built for Decision Makers
This edition reflects a major shift in agri-food innovation:
we are moving from incremental efficiency to systemic reinvention.
What stands out is not just the funding volume — but the quality of solutions:
- AI replacing manual risk detection
- Biology replacing chemicals
- Data replacing guesswork
- Automation replacing fragile supply chains
- Sustainability replacing short-term cost logic
For decision-makers, the signal is strong:
agriculture is now a core technology sector, not a commodity industry.
Those who invest, partner, and adapt early will define the next decade of food, climate, and bioeconomy leadership.
See you in Edition 3.
