Agri-Food Tech Startup Investment Doubles Up in FY22

According to a report by AgFunder and Omnivore, investment in technology companies in the agriculture and food sector increased more than twofold to $4.6 billion during the most recent fiscal year as a result of increased inflow in restaurant marketplace and e-grocery.

AgFunder is a Agri-Food Tech startup venture, while Omnivore is an Indian venture capital firm that finances entrepreneurs creating the food and agriculture systems of the future.

“Downstream investments continue to increase overall funding for agri-food tech startup. From $1.77 billion in FY2021, downstream startups raised $3.8 billion in FY2022, an increase of 115%. Swiggy, which raised $1.2 billion, or 26% of all investments in the agrifoodtech sector, is to blame for this enormous growth” claimed the research.

With funding of $1.9 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively, the restaurant marketplace and eGrocery emerged as the downstream sectors with the highest funding levels.

Restaurant marketplace and eGrocery have raised 66% of the total amount of money invested in the agrifoodtech industry.

Farmtech startups financed $1.5 billion in 140 deals last year, an 185% increase.

“The investment patterns are confirmation that the agrifoodtech market can no longer be labelled niche,” said Mark Kahn, Managing Partner at Omnivore. Agrifoodtech has attracted the interest of generalist VCs from all over the world who recognise its importance in transforming India’s enormous agricultural sector and rural economy.

“India has always been a leading agrifoodtech ecosystem…but to see investment levels surpass all other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and compete on the global stage is indicative of the impressive range and depth of innovations coming from the country and potential to impact the agrifood industry as a whole,” said Michael Dean, founding partner at AgFunder.