This represents a recovery from the 9% dip in funding in 2016, which reflected the overall dip in venture capital funding that year. Investing Report, food and agritech start-ups raised US$10.1 billion last year, marking a 29% year-on-year increase in funding volume. Blue River Technology uses computer vision and machine learning to power its award-winning See & Spray equipment, which allows intelligent weeding. This was followed by agriculture machinery manufacturer John Deere’s acquisition of agri-robotics start-up Blue River Technology for US$305 million. Granular offers cloud-based software to handle the different aspects of the business, including agronomy, machinery, management and accounting. The first major deal last year was by chemical giant Dow DuPont, which acquired farm management software start-up Granular for US$300 million. Dean says now is a good time to invest in food and agritech due to the amount of activity in the space. Last year was a particularly good one for food and agritech exits, with two high-profile acquisitions of agritech start-ups highlighting the growing trend. So far, there has not been any exits by the 16 companies it has funded internally since 2014. We are open to investing in the best companies we find globally,” says Dean. Of the three investments we have made so far with our internal funds, one is Australian, one is Brazilian and the other is a UK/US company. However, there are six spots available for minimum investments of US$25,000 and six for US$50,000. The minimum investment amount is US$100,000. Prior to this, its managed fund had been typically limited to large institutions and wealthy families. Last month, AgFunder opened its co-investment fund to accredited investors from anywhere in the world so long as they meet the criteria set by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. We are seeing more companies trying to solve problems in the sector and there are so many problems.” “A 2016 report by McKinsey lists agriculture as the least digitised industry, next to hunting at the very bottom of the list. It really is a nascent sector as a destination for investment,” says Michael Dean, co-founder and chief investment officer of AgFunder, a US-based venture capital investment platform for food and agritech start-ups. As far as venture capital investing goes, agritech is a world behind the other sectors. “Agriculture has traditionally been underfunded. The solutions can range from sensors that help farmers apply precise amounts of nutrients in plantations to lighting devices that can improve the immune systems of farm animals. Investors can tap into these agritech start-ups, which utilise technologies such as drones and sensors to solve problems in agriculture, via venture capital funds. Many start-ups are looking to tackle the pressing issues by providing exciting and innovative solutions across the supply chain and, as a result, are becoming targets for venture capital funds. The agriculture technology (agritech) segment in particular has been heating up over the past year. The dim prospects, however, present an interesting investment case for the agricultural sector. The threat of climate change and degradation of natural resources have led to rising concern that the global food supply will run out as the world’s population continues to grow.
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