Weekend reading: Investing in Agrifoodtech

I have no idea why this was sent to me but I cannot resist sharing this report with you: 2022 AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report (you have to sign in to read it).

I was intrigued by the findings of this report.

• $51.7 billion raised in total
• 85% year-on-year growth in funding
• 3,155 discrete deals
• 4,570 investors
• Largest deal: $3 billion, Furong Xingsheng(China, eGrocery)

Investment is growing rapidly.

Upstream and downstream are not defined the way they are in public health (iroot cause v. personal),  Instead, AgFunder defines the terms like this:

• Downstream: in-store restaurant and retail, online restaurants and mealkits, eGrocery, restaurant marketplaces, home and cooking
• Upstream: Ag biotech, farm management software, farm robotics and equipment, bioenergy and biomaterials, novel farming, agribusiness marketplaces, and innovative food.

The action lately has been in online sales: “eGrocery investment surged 188% YOY, accounting for 35% of all investment activity in 2021.”

The report has lots of charts.  If you want to see how food tis turned into an investment commodity, here’s a good example.