Here are the 10 deals that we found the most exciting and interesting for you to know this week:
๐ฌ๐งย ๐งซย Hoxton Farms, a British cellular agriculture startup, raised $22M to build its pilot plant. It focuses on alternative fats.
With the hundreds of millions raised by cellular agriculture and precision fermentation startups this year โjustโ to build their pilot plants, it will be a great year for all the equipment manufacturers (notably bioreactor providers) and all the people on the market with some bioengineering skills.
๐ช๐ธย ๐บย Ekonoke, a Spanish startup, raised โฌ4.2M to grow hops indoors, and henceโฆ ensure that beer can be made even as the crop is threatened by climate change. Beyond fighting climate change, we expect to see more and more ag&food startups focusing on mitigation (on impacts on all parts of the food value chain, big or small).
๐ฅย ๐บ๐ธย Xiao Chi Jie, an American Direct-To-Consumer startup selling frozen dumplings, raised $10M to rebrand and enter retail. Initially, the brand was a restaurant, which was forced to move to DTC in 2020 and was met with success due to viral videos on TikTok.
๐ฆ ย ๐บ๐ธ Viome, a leading US startup focused on testing kits (microbiome and DNA) raised $67M. It has recently released a new at-home test that can detect biomarkers associated oral and throat cancers. The funding will be used to develop new tests to detect new cancers and gastrointestinal diseases.
๐ย ๐ฌ๐งย Feel, a UK-based startup raised ยฃ10M for its range of supplements. This follows a media-for-equity deal last year with a TV broadcaster. It shows how a DTC brand can be grown by a combination of media and influence.
๐ฆย ๐บ๐ธ Nitricity, a US-based startup, raised $20M for its solution to produce nitrogen with renewable energy.
๐ช๐ฌย ๐ฉโ๐ณย MaxAB, an Egyptian startup, raised $40M for its B2B marketplace. It connects suppliers and small shops in Egypt and Maroc. It will use the funding to grow in new markets.
๐ฆ๐บย ๐งย Nourish, an Australia-based startup, raised AUD$45M for its fat alternatives. It uses precision fermentation to recreate animal fats which would then be used for plant-based alternatives.
๐บ๐ธย ๐คย + ๐ฅย While robots have a hard time and many startups are failing, others are still betting on this market:
- RoboBurger, a US-based startup, raised $10M for its burger robot vending machine.
- Wilkinson, also in the US, raised $3M for its autonomous bread-making robot. I know I shouldnโt say that as a French, but I find this idea of a bread-making machine inside supermarkets quite amazing (look at the video here)
Nice