🌿 Duckweed-extracted protein raises $30M

Catch up on this week's funding news in AgriFood

🍓 Vertical farming company Oishii closed its Series B round with $150 million, with new investors Resilience Reserve and Miyako Capital joining existing backers, as it prepares for its first international expansion with a new centre in Tokyo.

🍏 German snacking brand KoRo, known for its range of products made from natural foods, from nut butters and dried fruits to clean-label snacks and functional foods, raised €35 million in an oversubscribed Series C round to support its growth across Europe.

🌿 San Diego-based Plantible Foods secured $30 million Series B funding to expand manufacturing and meet the "insatiable" demand for its versatile plant-based protein, which it extracts from duckweed. 

💰 Keychain, a manufacturing platform for the packaged goods industry raised $15 million in new funding. The round was led by BoxGroup, with support from major food companies General Mills and Schreiber, and existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and SV Angel.

🤖 Four Growers raised $9 million in a Series A funding round led by Basset Capital to develop autonomous robots that address greenhouse labour shortages by automating tasks like harvesting and pruning.

🍳 Shenzhen-based Botinkit, which is behind the Omni automated cooking system, raised $21 million in a Series A extension to expand its kitchen robot that can stir-fry, stew, and cook with minimal human intervention, aiming to halve labour requirements in commercial kitchens.

🥃 Belfast-based Drinksology Kirker Greer Group, which specialises in spirits and hospitality design, secured €7.7 million to drive its global growth and sustainability efforts, with all its brands recently achieving B Corp certification.

🌾 BiocSol raised €5.2 million in a seed funding round led by Agri Investment Fund and VIVES IUF. It specialises in microbial-based biopesticides for sustainable crop protection, and is developing reliable and cost-effective solutions for challenges like mildew.

🌭 Dutch cultivated meat company Meatable secured a strategic investment from Betagro Ventures, the venture capital arm of Thailand-based agri-industrial giant Betagro, to accelerate its growth and market presence in Asia and explore co-development projects and strategic partnerships across the region.