Corteva adds Arevo nutrition technology to soybean seed portfolio
Corteva Agriscience has struck a partnership with Swedish crop nutrition company Arevo to bring its arginine-based seed treatment technology to soybean growers
Funding, mergers & acquisitions
Syngenta appoints Hengde Qin as CEO as IPO ambitions sharpen focus on execution
Syngenta has named insider Hengde Qin as its next CEO, a move that signals continuity and operational discipline, while aligning closely with the company’s longer-term ambition to list in Hong Kong
EIT Food backs 65 start-ups in 2026 FAN programme to fast-track agri-food innovation
EIT Food has selected 65 early-stage start-ups for its 2026 Food Accelerator Network (FAN), doubling down on technology validation, industry collaboration and modest grants to help bring agri-food innovation to market
Reservoir adds finance, indoor ag expertise with Contain acquisition
Reservoir brings in financial expertise to assist with creating the thesis of its second venture fund, which aims at improving agtech exits
Terraxy raises $3m to tackle desert soils and unlock carbon capture
KAUST spinout Terraxy has secured fresh funding from Aramco’s venture arm to scale its soil-regeneration technology, targeting land degradation and carbon storage across Saudi Arabia’s arid landscapes
Out of this world: Terrafarm channels seed funding to build space-ready farming tech
Tokyo-based start-up Terrafarm has raised around JPY100m (USD624,182) in seed funding to accelerate photosynthesis and robotics research as it targets its long-term goal of space agriculture
‘Standing still is not an option’: NZ unveils $46m dairy programme to tackle productivity, sustainability
The New Zealand government and dairy industry have jointly committed NZD45.85m (USD26.57m) to a seven-year programme aimed at breaking a productivity plateau that has stalled the sector while accelerating environmental gains
Rainbow Crops secures €9.7m to scale AI-powered gene editing for next-generation crops
Fresh funding positions Rainbow Crops to accelerate its AI-driven multiplex genome editing platform, building on early progress highlighted by AgNavigator in March and strengthening its ambition to reshape the future of crop breeding
Anterra raises $100m for Fund III as AI appetite in agriculture defies investment downturn
While funding remains subdued, specialist investor Anterra Capital says demand for AI-driven innovation in food and agriculture is accelerating, positioning the sector for what it calls its “most attractive deployment moment in twelve years”
AgriWebb CEO: URUS deal signals growing investor focus on ag data infrastructure
‘Livestock data is becoming the new supply chain backbone’
Measurable impact: World Bank backs Philippines $1bn agriculture reform programme
The Philippines has launched a USD1bn agriculture programme backed by the World Bank to raise farm output, strengthen value chains, and improve how the sector is managed.
Oishii secures $150m Series C as premium strategy sets it apart from vertical farming failures
While peers like Plenty, Bowery Farming and AppHarvest faltered under the weight of high costs and over-expansion, US-based Oishii is betting on crop differentiation, disciplined scaling and robotics-led efficiency to carve out a more sustainable path...
S2G closes $1B fund as investors double down on food and energy resilience
Growth-stage capital raise seen as validation of ‘missing middle’ thesis amid tough fundraising environment and rising geopolitical risk
Resurrect Bio closes $10.3M Series A as investors back AI-led crop immunity
Oversubscribed round signals growing confidence in gene-edited disease resistance as seed majors seek alternatives to chemical crop protection
FMC agrees to sell India crop protection business for $252m as it reworks presence in market
FMC Corporation to sell its India business to Crystal Crop Protection in a $252 million transaction as part of a broader strategy to reshape its presence in the Indian market.
Mosaic invests in SugaROx to back ‘precision biostimulants’ push
Oxford spinout tackles consistency challenge in biologicals as fertiliser giant doubles down on Biosciences strategy
Pymwymic backs DAT’s push to bring precision to cereals spraying
Impact investor Pymwymic has invested in Norwegian agtech firm Dimensions Agri Technologies, betting that its AI‑driven precision spraying system can deliver immediate reductions in chemical use – and prove that profitability and sustainability can go...
Syngenta makes its IPO case as Q1 growth holds up despite geopolitics and trade disruption
Syngenta Group’s first‑quarter results underline a steady shift towards a higher‑quality, innovation‑led agribusiness, with crop protection and seeds driving sales and margins even as FX headwinds, geopolitical tensions and trade disruption continue to...
BASF shareholders back agriculture carve‑out as geopolitics bite into crop protection earnings
BASF investors have given the green light to a planned carve‑out of the group’s Agricultural Solutions division, as first‑quarter results reveal how Middle East tensions and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are squeezing farmer buying power and...
Europe has the innovation – but not the finance to scale it
Europe’s agri-food innovation pipeline is rich in science, start-ups and early capital. What it lacks, according to two new reports, is a financial architecture capable of carrying technologies across the “valley of death” from validation to commercial...
Why now is the moment to back Africa’s agri-food opportunity, says MiiWa Capital’s Samina Anwar
With platforms built, markets maturing and climate pressure intensifying, Samina Anwar believes Sub‑Saharan Africa has reached an inflection point for agri‑food innovation. The real gap is no longer solutions, but risk‑tolerant capital willing to move...
Wild Bioscience targets route to market for first climate‑resilient crops after £45m Series A
Oxford spinout Wild Bioscience has raised £45m in new funding and expanded its operations as it accelerates its route to market for its first improved crop varieties, starting with precision‑bred wheat designed to withstand climate volatility
Fieldwork Robotics raises £3m to take autonomous harvesting from pilot plots to everyday farm operations
With £3 million in new funding secured, UK-based Fieldwork Robotics says it is entering the most critical phase in its development: moving autonomous raspberry harvesting out of controlled trials and into growers’ core operations, where cost, uptime and...
France’s newest export isn’t perfume – it’s scent‑based crop protection
French agtech Agriodor has raised €15m to scale a novel class of crop protection products that use the natural scents emitted by plants to attract, repel or disrupt insect pests – offering a potential alternative to conventional insecticides at a time of...
‘Sharpening our focus’: Olam to sell IT business to priortise ‘farm to fork’ operations
Olam Group is to divest its IT and digital services business Mindsprint, which serves multiple clients across the food and agri-sectors, to technology services and consulting company Wipro for US$375 million.
World Bank‑hosted fund unveils $38m boost for smallholder farmers in drive to tackle food insecurity
New grants aim to raise farmer incomes, strengthen producer organisations and build resilience to climate and economic shocks
South Korea accelerates AI deployment with U$27m marine and fisheries investment
South Korea will inject KRW40bn (U$26.75m) over two years to push artificial intelligence solutions out of the lab and into real‑world as part of a national move to build a globally competitive marine and fisheries industry.
Philanthropy steps in where VC won’t: DSV and Renaissance launch venture engine for climate‑ready crops
Deep Science Ventures and Renaissance Philanthropy unveil a new venture creation project aimed at building a generation of field‑ready crop‑resilience technologies backed not by traditional VC capital, but by high‑ambition philanthropic funding willing...
German start-up Eternal.ag secures €8M to launch fully autonomous greenhouse harvesting robot
With greenhouse labour availability collapsing across Europe, Eternal.ag says its AI‑driven Harvester can keep production running 22 hours a day
Halter raises NZD $377m to drive global expansion as virtual fencing demand surges
New Zealand’s AI-enabled livestock tech unicorn hits US$2bn valuation and prepares for major UK, Ireland and South America launch
Investor profile
Xinomavro Ventures wants to drag the wine industry into the digital age
The world’s only wine‑focused tech investment fund says vineyards are facing agricultural challenges sooner – and more severely – than other sectors. Xinomavro Ventures believes that makes them the ideal proving ground for new ag innovations
Living Models emerges from stealth with $7m to build AI ‘foundation models’ for plant genomics
Paris-Berkeley-based start-up unveils BOTANIC, an open‑weight genomic transformer trained on 43 plant species, and says its approach could cut years from the seed development cycle
Leaps by Bayer’s PJ Amini pushes back after critics say new Playbook alienates early‑stage innovators
VP PJ Amini says the updated Ag Playbook 2.0 framework is meant to equip founders, not deter them, with clearer data on timelines, costs and development hurdles
Gene‑edited crops draw record investor backing as Tropic lands $105m to scale climate‑resilient bananas and rice
UK agri‑biotech Tropic has closed an oversubscribed $105m Series C, the biggest raise yet for a gene‑edited tropical crops company, as investors double down on CRISPR‑enabled tools to boost yield, fight disease and strengthen climate resilience across...
Amatera banks €6M to turbo‑charge AI‑powered crop breeding
Paris‑based start-up Amatera has raised €6 million to accelerate its high‑throughput, cell‑level breeding platform, aiming to slash the time and cost of developing climate‑resilient crop varieties
Cytotrait claims breakthrough for ultra‑high trait expression as it closes £3M seed round
UK spinout says its organelle‑engineering platform could unlock traits not possible to achieve with nuclear genome editing, as investors back new crop development programmes across Europe and North America
Resurrect Bio brings plant immunity back to life with AI‑driven gene editing
UK start‑up claims competitive edge in race for sustainable crop protection as it accelerates gene‑edited traits for soy, corn, wheat, potato, tomato, spinach – and soon cotton and canola
Wine Australia overhauls innovation financing with new fund to boost sector resilience
Wine Australia is reforming innovation funding by combining government matching, private investment and strategic partnerships to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness, sustainability, and long-term resilience.
Agtech funding recap for Feb. 2026: Kubota invests in Kilter, Corteva Catalyst in Resurrect Bio
Does a recent slew of agtech funding news point to a broader investment trend for 2026?
Securing the future: Nihon Agri raises over U$8m to overhaul value chain, accelerate expansion
Japan’s Nihon Agri has raised JPY1.3bn (US$8.26m) to optimise its value chain as it scales its business for future growth.
Dyson Farming and KWS join Wild Bio in five‑year sprint to commercial precision-bred wheat breakthrough
University of Oxford spinout expects precision‑bred wheat to reach UK farms within around five years, following the launch of a new consortium with seed giant KWS and Dyson Farming, the UK’s largest commercial farming operation
SP Ventures hits $50m milestone for third fund, after ‘watershed year’ in 2025
SP Ventures is attracting global investors into its third fund – a tough fund for venture capitalists
DSM‑Firmenich’s €2.2bn ANH exit underscores ‘barbell’ reality in animal health investment
Divestment to CVC highlights how volatility is reshaping capital allocation in animal nutrition, while specialist investors continue to see upside in value‑add animal health plays
Investors back Gabon potash mine as fertiliser prices rise
Millennial Potash Corp. has secured $18.3 million in fresh funding to accelerate development of its Banio Potash Project in Gabon, as investors increasingly seek exposure to new fertiliser supply sources amid ongoing geopolitical shocks
UK backs next wave of low‑emission farming tech with £1.34m innovation boost
DEFRA and Innovate UK target methane‑cutting feed, climate‑smart crops, biochar fertilisers and advanced waste-to-energy solutions across 15 projects
Heritable gets $5M for AI crop resilience as Africa emerges as agtech’s next frontier
Heritable Agriculture, the AI-powered crop improvement start‑up spun out of Google X, has secured a $4.98 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance climate‑resilient crops for smallholder farmers across Africa and other low- and...
Shaping outcomes: Funding differences steer agtech development across emerging markets
Agtech startups in emerging markets are developing along divergent paths as funding differences determine which solutions attract capital and achieve viable exits.
BASF to acquire biocontrol company AgBiTech, marking first M&A move of 2026
BASF started 2026 by scooping up a biological insect control company, as the chemical giant prepares to spin-off a portion of its agriculture business in 2027
Wild Bio and The Traits Company join forces to accelerate next-gen soybean development
UK ag-biotech Wild Bioscience and US-based The Traits Company announce a strategic collaboration to fast-track differentiated soybean varieties – validating demand for Wild Bio’s AI-powered trait design platform
VC for fighting biodiversity loss: Superorganism closes $25.9m debut fund
Superorganism is on a mission to address biodiversity loss with a portfolio of technology companies tackling the drivers of biodiversity loss