Subject: đŸ’ȘđŸŒđŸ€” Starting the Year with Grace: Flexing Our Agrifoodtech Muscles

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What Not to Read: A Contrarian’s Guide to Avoiding Agrifoodtech Noise

Happy New Year! In a world brimming with information, many of you have asked us over the past year: What do you read to deepen your understanding? It’s a great question, and we’re thrilled you’re asking—but the answer is far from straightforward.


Navigating agrifoodtech demands discernment amid Venture Capital’s famously asymmetrical information flows and the unique complexities of the sector: intricate value chains, razor-thin margins in many instances. The challenge isn't just deciding what to read—it’s mastering what not to read.


To help you sift through the noise, here are some telltale signs of LinkedIn Ghouls. Just stay clear from those self-proclaimed innovation “gurus”:


  1. Overused Buzzwords: Posts littered with phrases like “paradigm-shifting innovation” or “growth hacking” that sound impressive but mean nothing .

  2. Virtue Signaling: Polished "humble brags" masquerading as profound life lessons. You know the type.

  3. Global North Saviors: Generic advice handed down to the Global South, oblivious to local realities and challenges.

  4. Real Science, Hippie Claims: Model-based scientific papers misrepresented as concrete, real-world data—conveniently "proving" the thesis championed by their promoters, often with glaring biases or selective interpretations.

What We Value

We prioritize transparent lessons from failed strategies, real-world funding insights, and data-driven analysis.


⁉ Struggling to curate quality content? Drop us a line! We’ll craft a personalized reading list for the first readers who respond. Chances are, we’ll highlight incredible insights from thought leaders like Shane Thomas, Rhishi Pethe, Julian Mellentin, Jason Clay, and Nadav Berger, to name just a few.

2024 Highlights: Select Signals Worth Following

Technology Providers Investing in Ecosystems

NVIDIA invested in Carbon Robotics’ Series D round. Their CO2 laser-equipped vehicles powered by 24 NVIDIA GPUs autonomously eliminate weeds. This reflects a broader trend where enablers of transformative technologies fund their clients to drive mutual growth.


Why it matters

The buyer universe in F&A is smaller and less cash-rich than the technology sector. In a recent analysis S2G Ventures highlighted that the market cap of the top 10 companies in food & agriculture, oceans, and energy is approximately $4.65 trillion, compared with $20 trillion in technology. Investors must find a way to be more capital-efficient for these companies to buy innovative startups and for investors to make risk-adjusted market-rate returns.



Tech Titans in Agrifood: Superangels with Gold Thumbs?

While Bill Gates and now Jeff Bezos often dominate headlines on tech titans venturing in agrifood innovation, others are quietly making waves. Jack Ma, since stepping down from Alibaba, has embarked on a global exploration of food and agriculture solutions. Recently, he backed a fishery and agriculture start-up in his hometown of Hangzhou.


Sounds familiar? Well before him Lenovo Founder Liu Chuanzhi, went further, expanding into agriculture through Legend Holdings' Joyvio.


Why it matters

These tech pioneers bring sharp business instincts and a knack for innovation to agrifood. Their recent moves may be just the tip of the iceberg, making it worth watching what they have in store next.



Tectonic Shifts in Agribusiness Consolidation

Saudi Arabia’s SALIC recently increased its stake in Olam Agri, reflecting a trend of resource-constrained nations investing in agribusiness to secure food resources, similar to the UAE's investments in LDC.


At the same time disrupting the F&A sector remains challenging, as shown by Alphabet’s decision to wind down its agriculture moonshot, Mineral. Ultimately they decided to integrate their solutions into existing agribusinesses instead.


Why it matters

Are we entering a new dimension in agribusiness consolidation? This could redefine global agricultural markets.

Quirky Thoughts for 2025

Rethinking Food Innovation Funding

With VC funding painfully down and the urgency to fix our food systems higher than ever, we need to rethink how we fund innovation. There’s plenty of debate about what venture capital is good for and where public funding should step in, but too often, these roles get muddled, resulting in a proliferation of zombie startups and “ghostcubators”.


Drawing unexpected inspiration from the UK Cabinet Office’s "The Art of the Possible”, we believe public procurement has untapped potential to drive national innovation.


Entrepreneurs need proof of product-market fit to attract investors. But off-takers (who given the concentration hold great power) won’t commit without a firm price, and prices aren’t competitive until you’ve scaled commercially. Enter the current funding gap: no capital, no scaling, no commitments—a vicious cycle.


What if public food agencies stepped in with conditional LOIs, breaking this stalemate and giving entrepreneurs just enough runway to take the leap?



The Next Frontier of Biomanufacturing: AI-Driven Cellular Intelligence

Cells, the building blocks of life, hold vast untapped potential. Despite decades of research, our understanding of their intricate mechanisms remains incomplete. Unlocking a comprehensive, predictive understanding of cellular processes could revolutionize industries by revealing critical biological pathways essential to the Biomanufacturing Revolution.


A few trailblazers, including biotech industry veteran Dr Sunil Sukumaran, CTO at Perfect Day, quietly envision a transformative future: one where AI-powered Virtual Cells and Circuity Mimics accelerate discoveries. These advanced models could uncover new drug targets, predict cellular responses to environmental changes, and dramatically enhance the speed and scale of hypothesis testing.


Welcome to the dawn of Virtual Cell Modelling powered by Artificial Intelligence. Is it daunting or exhilarating? We cast our vote for exhilarating.

Enjoyed these insights? Have a related topic you'd like us to explore at FFA25?

Reach out to us—we’d love to keep the conversation going

Mark your calendars! The highly anticipated 9th edition of Future Food Asia returns from May 20th to 22nd, 2025. With the theme “Where Innovation Meets Growth,” this year's event promises to be one you won’t want to miss.