#Venture capital

What do you get when you have leading international agrifood tech venture capitalists (VCs) and top tier private equity investors on a panel? A lot of predictions about the future, of course. But this year a panel at evoke^AG. 2024 also spoke openly about their reflections and the stark reality - a downturn in investment, coupled with geopolitical relations and inflation brings further financial headwinds. However, it’s certainly not all bad news. While entrepreneurs don’t have as much money to access from VCs, the overall agrifood tech ecosystem is maturing, with a broader awareness of the sector. 

In a challenging market for venture capital, agrifood tech investors are not only looking for innovations that could change the world, they’re looking for the founders who can make change happen. That means resilience, creativity, and something that looks a bit like courage.
AgFunder Founding Partner Michael Dean and Olympia Yarger, Founder and CEO of maggot-powered food waste management startup, Goterra explore the funding challenges in this market. For both, the key to success comes from a passion to solve the problem – and a sheer inability to give up.

Data and dollars are two key ingredients to build a robust agrifood tech and innovation landscape that creates meaningful change in food systems. But how can early-stage startups secure one without the other? Is this a chicken and egg scenario? Early stage agrifood tech venture capitalist and partner at The First Thirty, Antony Yousefian, muses on this dilemma.

Investment in Australian agrifood tech remained relatively robust last year – even in the face of a global downturn. Now, local data for 2023 suggests it’s continuing to hold strong. Leading the way are upstream, climate-conscious innovations.

Billions of dollars and decades of experience in venture capital come together as five leading global investors talk agrifood tech – and their outlook is bright.
evoke^AG. 2023 set the scene for this high-powered discussion about what’s impacting agrifood tech investment.

Global investment in agrifood technology has steadily increased over the past decade or so. So, what’s driving this growth? Between decarbonisation, supply chains and innovation in the field (literally) big opportunities lay ahead.

At first glance, AgFunder’s Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report makes for pretty bleak reading, showing a 44 per cent drop in investment in the sector in 2022 compared to 2021. But beyond the headline figures, there’s a more nuanced story to tell – and looking forward, it’s not all bad news.

Agritech startup, FarmLab is on a mission to help 1 million farmers sequester 1 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2025, with grand plans to scale up technology across Australia, the US and Europe – and now actively seeking investors for its $5 million Series A funding round.

It was billed as the ‘had to have’ ticket for investment-ready startups at evoke^AG. 2020, and now interest in the evoke^AG. 2022 Investor Dinner has stepped up a notch, with investors equally excited to secure their own seat at the table.

With more than 40 years in the venture capital game, Andy Ziolkowski – the Managing Director of US-based food and agriculture-focused venture capital firm, Cultivian Sandbox and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cultivian Ventures – knows a good investment when he sees one.

The individual resumes, portfolios and corporate triumphs of Kylie Frazer and Rachael Neumann are enough to make anyone feel dually inadequate and inspired – but together, they’re the team captains of Flying Fox Ventures, and everyone wants to be picked on their side. Meeting at an industry dinner just over three years ago, both agree it was professional love at first sight, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As the Managing Partner of Omnivore – the largest and oldest player in the Indian agritech venture scene – Mark Kahn understands what it takes to really ‘make it’ after building a venture capital firm from the ground up that’s pioneered agritech investing in India.