🍫 New in Funding: Fava-bean Chocolate

💸 Californian VC Acre Venture Partners closed its Fund III with $140 million to invest in pre-seed to Series B agrifoodtech companies. To date, it has supported six startups, including agricultural robotics companies Bonsai Robotics and farm-ng.

🧑‍🌾 US-based Mad Capital launched its Perennial Fund II, targeting $50 million to support farmers with loans to help them transition to regenerative and/or organic agricultural practices.

🇦🇺 Australian startup Cauldron raised AU$9.5 million ($6.25 million) in a Series A funding round led by Horizon Ventures. Its continuous fermentation technology helps to improve the economics of large scale fermentation production, and it will use the funds to support plans for a 500,000 litre production facility.

🇳🇿 ANDFOODS, based in New Zealand, secured $2.7 million seed funding for its legume-based dairy alternatives, produced via fermentation to remove flavour off-notes while retaining nutritional benefits and functional properties.

🥘 US startup Proxy Foods raised $2.3 million seed funding for its AI-powered food and beverage platform, designed to optimise recipe formulation and support product development.

🍫 UK-based Nukoko raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Oyster Bay Venture Capital to scale its technology to produce cocoa-free chocolate from fava beans, a nitrogen-fixing crop that can be grown in the UK.

🇪🇸 Female-led Spanish startup Poseidona secured €1.1 million pre-seed funding to further develop its sustainable and cost-effective algal protein ingredients, made from algal side streams and invasive seaweeds, contributing to managing marine ecosystems.

🇰🇪 Kenyan agtech Farm to Feed has secured $1 million in equity and grant funding to reduce food wastage in the country by aggregating farm produce and selling it to restaurants and food processors through its sales channels.

🇳🇱 Netherlands-based Time Travelling Milkman raised €850,000 seed funding to expand its operations. Its flagship product, Oleocream, is a plant-based fat ingredient designed to improve creaminess in dairy alternatives.

🇸🇦 Barakah, based in Saudi Arabia, raised undisclosed funding from German VC FoodLabs. It sells surplus inventory from restaurants, bakers and groceries via its app, helping to cut food waste.

🫘 Bold Bean Co secured £50k investment from business investor Deborah Meaden on the UK’s Dragon’s Den.