INVESTMENT CLIMATE PODCAST
Maia Ventures: David Bassani on Italy's "Untapped" AgriFood Market and the Private Equity Exit Strategy
In this episode, I sit down with David Bassani, Founding Partner of Maia Ventures, an Italy-based VC fund rapidly approaching its €60M hard cap. David details why he believes the Italian ecosystem is severely underfunded despite Agri-Food accounting for 15% of the nation's GDP. He reveals how Maia acts as a powerful bridge, bringing global AgriFoodTech startups to Italian corporates while simultaneously taking localized Italian innovation to the world stage. We also unpack David's highly contrarian strategy: dedicating a specific portion of the portfolio to "traditional" businesses with strong EBITDA (like their sous-vide vegetable company, Capellini) to explicitly target early Private Equity buyouts rather than relying solely on the elusive FMCG corporate acquisition. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how a cold intro from a fellow VC led to their first US investment in the GLP-1 space (Lombos) and why Maia Ventures refuses to fund CapEx projects.
Key Facts Maia Ventures:
Goal: To invest globally in Seed-stage AgriFoodTech startups focusing on health, efficiency, and resiliency, while acting as a strategic bridge to the Italian corporate and CDMO ecosystem.
Milestone: Currently managing €55M with a final close of €60M targeted by the end of the year; writing initial checks between €500K and €1.5M.
🎧Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
INVESTMENT CLIMATE PODCAST
On New Zealand’s massive government match-funding and escaping the Agri-Food VC winter - Sandhya Sriram, Sprout Agritech
In this episode, I sit down with Sandhya Sriram, CEO of Sprout Agritech, a premier startup accelerator and early-stage investor based in New Zealand. Sandhya—a stem cell scientist and serial entrepreneur turned investor—explains how Sprout leverages heavy New Zealand government backing to radically de-risk pre-seed investments. We discuss their unique funding structure, which pairs private equity with $750k in non-dilutive government match-funding, making New Zealand one of the most capital-efficient ecosystems on the planet. Currently raising a new $55M–$60M NZD fund to expand across the APAC region, Sandhya reveals why they act more like co-founders than traditional VCs, actively handing research scientists their first corporate pilot customers, and why she is aggressively rebranding their thesis away from "Agri-Tech" to "Deep Tech."
Key Facts Sprout Agritech:
Goal: To act as "smart connected capital" for deep tech innovation across the Agri-Food value chain, bridging the gap between academic research and commercial pilot runs.
Milestone: Currently raising a new $55M–$60M NZD fund to expand APAC investments, building on a fully deployed $40M fund that saw 14 investments and two exits (including one 8x return).
🎧Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
INVESTMENT CLIMATE PODCAST
Royal Cosun: Jara van den Bogaerde on Corporate Open Innovation and surviving the 6-month Pilot timeline
In this episode, I sit down with Jara van den Bogaerde, Open Innovation Manager at Royal Cosun, a 125-year-old Dutch food processor and cooperative representing 8,500 farmers. Jara pulls back the curtain on how a massive corporate player scouts and collaborates with early-stage AgriFoodTech startups. We discuss the difference between Cosun’s CVC arm (writing ~$5M Series A equity checks) and its Open Innovation division, which bypasses the equity table to focus on pre-seed and seed-stage pilots, joint ventures, and licensing. Jara details their specific 2026 mandate to find disruptive technologies in alternative proteins, fibers, and side-stream valorization, and explains why founders need to stop pitching with a "trust us, we're great" mentality.
🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Jara’s reality check on the timeline for securing a paid corporate pilot and why startups with only two months of runway are already too late.
Key Facts Royal Cosun:
Goal: To build a sustainable 10-year innovation pipeline by partnering with startups to co-develop, license, or scale technologies in alternative proteins, texturizers, and side-stream valorization.
Milestone: Operating with a pre-allocated R&D budget for Open Innovation, allowing them to bypass internal budget-hunting to rapidly execute paid POCs and pilots with startups.
🎧Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
BACKGROUND
Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From FoodTech CEOs and VCs
In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky uncovers the investment playbooks of successful FoodTech & ClimateTech CEOs and leading VCs.
Podcast Host Alex Shandrovsky is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.
UPGRADE TO FTW PLUS
The only AgriFoodTech investor database you’ll need
Fundraising for your startup? Or just want to start building relationships with investors ahead of your future raise?
We’ve got you covered. Upgrade to FTW Plus and get:
✅ Full access to our exclusive AgriFoodTech Investor database, covering thousands of AgriFoodTech Investors ($5,000 value)
✅ Access to The Investor Climate Playbook: 50 Interviews With Founders Who Raised in 2025 ($50 value)
✅ FREE 1:1 pitch deck feedback session with an expert ($200 value)
✅ FREE 1:1 investability session with an expert ($200 value)
THE LEFTOVERS
By Daniel Skavén Ruben, Ilkka Taponen, and Alex Shandrovsky.
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