In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
Food Venture Financing Trends
- In Q1 2024, food tech startup funding fell by 50%, while AI startups captured 70% of venture capital investments.
- Despite difficult fundraising conditions, alternative protein companies are attracting investor interest and succeeding in M&A:
- Liberation Bioindustries, formerly Liberation Labs, raised $52 million for a precision fermentation and alternative protein production facility.
- Vivici, an alternative dairy producer, secured $33.8 million in funding.
- PFx Biotech, a Porto-based startup that develops natural human milk proteins, closed a €2.5 million seed round.
- Food tech companies that integrate AI are also experiencing success:
- Coco Robotics, a Los Angeles-based food delivery startup, raised $80 million from VC firms and angel investors, including Sam Altman.
- Tastewise, an AI marketing platform for food and beverage companies, raised a $50 million Series B round.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is Rich Products Ventures ("RPV").
- RPV, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, is the corporate venture arm of Rich Products Corporation, a leading frozen food manufacturer and one of the 50 largest food and beverage companies in the United States.
- As a private, family-owned company with global reach, RPV is dedicated to providing opportunities and a competitive edge for early-stage ventures across the food industry that aim to shape the future of food through technology and innovation. RPV's areas of focus include the following:
- Nutrition and health
- Sustainable production
- Next generation of retail and foodservice
- Dynamic supply chain
- Some of their portfolio companies include:
- Thistle, a plant forward meal delivery service.
- Botrista, an automated premium beverage solution company.
- Haofood, a company creating plant-based chicken.
- Myco Technology, a company dedicated to developing novel proteins and ingredients through precision fermentation and mycelium.
- Every, a company creating animal-free protein solutions.
[View source.]
