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- FoodTech Weekly #246 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #246 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
May 16, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes
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#246
Hi there,
Greetings from Lausanne and a few intense days at HackSummit, where 900 founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem folks are busy networking, learning, partnering (and partying). I’ve e.g. moderated a panel on circular economy in the food system, and also had the privilege of hosting on stage the FoodTech World Cup (congrats to the winner, Soledad Gurovic, Ph.D., of Future Biome).
I’ve also enjoyed never-ending panoramic views, meeting old and new friends in the space — and sampling way too much future foods (which is OK — I’m just one food poisoning away from my target weight).
Great vibe here, and it’s really re-energizing to see that despite much doom and gloom about FoodTech, AgTech, and the future of food, tons of smart founders and investors are still working tirelessly to help us transition into a better food system — one that’s environmentally sustainable, nourishing, and resilient ❤️
This week's rundown:
💵 Rainmaker Technology pulls in $25M for drones that, well, make it rain
🤑 Bovotica bags $3.4M to stop cows from emitting methane
🇨🇭 A $5,000 fine for systematically feeding the neighbor’s cat
Let's go!
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💰 Funding
🇪🇸 Heura, which develops and sells plant-based alternatives to animal-sourced foods, has received €20M ($22.4M) in venture debt from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The startup also says it expects to turn a profit in Q4 2025, and see its full year of profitability in 2026.
🇹🇭 Muu, which produces animal-free dairy proteins using precision fermentation, has secured an undisclosed sum in funding from A2D Ventures, Leave a Nest Japan, and an unnamed Japanese food giant.
🇦🇺 Bovotica has scored $3.4M; the startup develops blends of pre- and probiotics to regulate the microbiome in the cow’s rumen, thus helping to limit the amount of cattle emissions — while improving their metabolic efficiency. The round was led by AgriZeroNZ and joined by InnovationClub, Melt Ventures, Cultiv8 Funds Management, Better Bite Ventures, and Lord Pastoral.
🇺🇸 Rainmaker has landed a $25M Series A led by Lowercarbon Capital. The company develops AI-powered drones that find and seed clouds to make them produce rain in drought-prone areas.
🇬🇧 Gardin Agritech has closed $4.5M in Seed funding led by Navus Ventures and joined by other investors. The startup has developed an AI-supported sensor that can measure crop photosynthesis in greenhouses at scale, and in real time, thus determining plant health.
Image: Gardin
🇮🇳 High Time Foods has scooped up $1.2M in funding from Avaana Capital, and joined by existing angel investors. The company develops non-refrigerated, plant-based protein products to help cut protein deficiency in markets with limited cold chain infrastructure.
🇦🇹 3D printed alt seafood startup Revo Foods has launched a crowdfunding campaign which has already received over €1.2M ($1.3M) in commitments.
🇦🇺 Levur has banked $1.2M in pre-seed funding to develop a fermentation-based oil alternative using engineered yeast, aiming to become a more environmentally friendly alternative to palm oil. The round was led by Main Sequence and GrainCorp Ventures, and joined by Cultiv8 and UNSW Founders Program.
🇨🇦 CropMind has hauled in a $500K Seed round to provide analytics tools to tree fruit growers to automate their crop management tasks, from the dormant stage to the harvest stage. The round was led by New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and BKR Capital.
🇸🇪 Pea-milk startup Sproud has raised $2.2M in new funding from e.g. Lantmännen, FineIn Holding and VGC Partners. The company has raised a total of $19.6M since its founding in 2019.
🇺🇸 Zordi has bagged an investment round from Khosla Ventures, Yanmar Ventures, and others backers. The startup develops autonomous scouting and harvesting robots that can cut labor needs by 80% while boosting crop yields.
🎙️ Investment Climate: Mark Washington of Supergut on how to get funded in 2025
This week, Alex Shandrovsky (alongside co-host Lance Lively of The Gut Punch) met with Marc Washington, founder and Executive Chairman of Supergut. The brand has become a breakout leader at the intersection of gut health and the GLP-1 wave. Supergut recently secured a “significant growth equity investment” from Full Frame Growth Partners.
Top three findings from this conversation:
Clinical Research as a Brand Moat. While others slapped on health claims, Supergut invested in gold-standard science—earning credibility that 99% of wellness brands can’t touch. “ It was over a million dollars that we spent on clinical research for a study of that size and magnitude. Now we're incredibly happy that we went through a very expensive, time-consuming exercise of doing a gold standard clinical study. It's a real credible science behind it.”
Always Be Fundraising. Relationships started a year before the check was written. The deal was built over time—not overnight. “ We weren’t actively raising, but as an entrepreneur, you’re always fundraising in one form or another.”
Ask Investors for Their Take. Marc used investor meetings not just to pitch—but to test value props, weed out weak fits, and gather strategic insight. “Instead of continuing to go down that pathway of revealing more about the business, I would turn the tables right and ask the investors: ‘So given what I've shared, what do you think is unique about what we're doing and how would you think about positioning this in the marketplace relative to what you're seeing?’ So kind of turning the tables, almost like an interview with them to see if they got us.”
🧐 Noteworthy
🥛 Pureture says it has developed a fermentation-derived casein that is 30% cheaper than traditional dairy protein while mimicking functionality.
💡 ‘If every company is a regenerative ag company, then no company is a regenerative ag company.’ Great read from Shane Thomas.
🧃 BlueTrue Technologies, which uses a patented process selectively remove sugars from juice and milk while maintaining the flavor, has struck a deal with a manufacturer in Thailand and is in conversations with leading juice players in LATAM, a region that has started to implement sugar taxes and/or front-of-pack warning labels for products deemed high in e.g. sugar.
🐖 In a landmark decision, the FDA has approved CRISPR-edited pigs for human consumption. The new pigs (developed by PIC, the Pig Improvement Company) resist porcine reproductive and respiratory system (PRRS), a viral infection which causes significant animal suffering and economic losses (h/t FoodHack).
🦾 BurgerBot and ABB Robotics have partnered to launch a new automated restaurant solution that helps assemble burgers; many fast food chains are impacted by high staff turnover and rising labor costs. The new solution is already live at restaurants in Los Gatos, California.
🌍 News from the FoodTech Weekly community
🌱 Stockholm-based company Grönska, which designs and sells growing cabinets for herbs and leafy greens, has launched a new model aimed at both professional kitchens and small-scale food producers. With ambitions to scale globally, the team is now exploring new distribution and partnership opportunities, primarily in the U.S.. Email Robin for more info.
♻️ Join TransFoodMission in their upcoming webinar “From Niche to Mainstream: The Strategic Rise of Upcycled Food in Retail”, on May 23 at 1pm CEST. Register now.
💷 Zinc and UKRI (ESRC & BBSRC) are launching a new initiative, the Multidisciplinary Food Systems Commercialisation Catalyst, designed to bring together researchers from the social sciences and biosciences to form interdisciplinary teams and tackle the shared challenge of how we build healthy, sustainable, and resilient food systems. Selected teams will be eligible for up to £125,000 in funding, and a 6-month support programme to help translate research into real-world impact. Apply by June 13.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
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🎲 Random Stuff
🐈 A 68-year-old Swiss woman could be fined more than $5K for repeatedly feeding her neighbor’s cat, Leo, even after the cat’s rightful owner told her to stop doing so. Under Swiss law, systematically feeding another person’s pet is considered unlawful appropriation.
🦆 A duck was caught on speed camera going 52 km/h (32 mph) in a 30 km/h (18 mph) zone outside Bern, Switzerland. Local police say it might be a repeat offender.
Image: Swissinfo
⛔ French electronics store chain Fnac has permanently shut down the escalators in some of its stores because they consume too much electricity.
🐑 The ratio of sheep to humans in New Zealand has fallen from 22:1 in 1982, to less than 5:1 today. I just thought you wanted to know.
🗣 Lidl is letting its customers audition to be the new voice for the supermarket chain’s automatic tills in Scotland.
I love you.
Daniel
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🎵 This issue was produced while listening to Waiting - PAL Remix by Alice Boman & PAL
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