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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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A New Report Details Promise (and Challenges) of Canada’s Food & Ag Tech Ecosystem

The Canadian food and agtech ecosystem is experiencing significant growth, according to a new report published today by the Canadian Food Innovation Network.

The report, which dives deep into specific sectors, funding, sector sizing, key challenges and opportunities, says the Canadian agrifoodtech ecosystem lags behind global leaders in both funding and company concentration. According to the report, USD $1.6 billion has been invested in the sector since 2018, with plant-based proteins emerging as Canada’s largest food tech domain, valued at USD $1.7 billion in 2023. However, compared to its global peers, which tend to allocate just 17% of total agrifoodtech investments into agtech, Canada is a bit over-indexed in agtech with 44% of investments compared to 56% invested in food tech (56%).

Despite a total investment in food tech that is smaller relative to its global peers, the report says Canada is establishing itself as a hub for plant-based proteins, biotech-enabled functional foods, and upcycled ingredients:

“The Plant-Based sector is the most significant, comprising 26% of the Canadian food tech ecosystem (investment), compared to 14% globally. This is followed by Functional Foods & Drinks, representing 12% of companies, and Biotech/ Synthetization—primarily focused on specialty ingredients —with 7% of the Canadian food tech ecosystem. All three domains are also amongst the top five most represented globally.“

According to the report, the Canadian food and ag tech ecosystem faces key challenges relative to the US and other markets, the biggest of which is a lack of private capital. Only 40% of food tech investment rounds are backed by venture capital, compared to 60% in the UK and US. This means a heavy reliance on public grants, which comprise nearly 30% of total funding. This is much higher than in the UK (5%) and US (8%). Other challenges include limited scaling resources due to the country’s large geography and lower overall population density, a fragmented regulatory environment and lack of a national food tech strategy.

Despite these challenges, Canadian Food Innovation Network CEO Dana McCauley is optimistic about the sector’s future.

“These challenges are daunting: labour shortages, supply chain vulnerabilities, climate change, and slow rates of innovation threaten the resilience and sustainability of our food system. Yet, Canada’s foodtech ecosystem is rising to the occasion. By leveraging its unique strengths in plant-based proteins, biotech-enabled functional foods, upcycled ingredients, and beyond, the sector is driving transformative innovations that enhance sustainability, boost economic productivity, and create jobs across the country.”

If you’d like to read the full report, you can find it on the CFIN website.

Bonsai’s Announcement Shows Momentum for ‘Physical AI’ in Food & Ag Continues Post-CES

While NVIDIA’s taken a beating the last couple of weeks with the industry-shaking release of DeepSeek, company CEO Jensen Huang’s talk at CES about how AI models are now extending to help us gain a better understanding of our physical world continues to be a tailwind behind those startups levering AI for robotics, computer vision systems and more in a variety of industries.

Including agriculture. Sure, Bonsai’s round was probably nailed down before CES but the announcement’s big emphasis on physical AI was undoubtedly influenced by the big buzz coming out of the big tech show. Bonsai, which makes AI-driven autonomous systems for harsh farming environments, announced last week they’ve secured $15 million in Series A funding to enhance its software, expand its platform, and accelerate commercialization.

The company’s flagship technology, Visionsteer, enables autonomous navigation and data analysis in orchards, even in challenging conditions such as dust, darkness, and uneven terrain. The company says it has over 40 deployed units and has collected data from more than 500,000 acres, which it says translates into lower costs, increased yields, and operational insights previously unavailable through traditional farming methods.

You can check out the company’s hero reel of their computer vision below.

Bonsai 2024 Introduction Video

Video Game Pro? Why Not Join Our Farm: Farmers Seek New Skills to Attract Workers

It’s no secret that farmers face a significant labor crunch, one that’s expected to worsen over the next few years.

One major reason is farmers’ heavy reliance on migrant labor. Unfortunately, there may be far fewer workers available from this vital labor pool in the coming years. Threats of mass deportations under the Trump administration have left many in the agriculture and food industries concerned about the potential impacts on their partners and the broader food supply chain.

“Our ability to feed ourselves as a country is completely jeopardized if you do see the mass deportations,” said Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, in a recent interview.

Compounding this issue is the reality that the average farmer is getting up there in years, with the current average age being 58. Many of these farmers have no succession plan, as younger generations from farm families often show little interest in taking over the family business. As a result, many farms currently producing food may be sold off to developers within the next decade.

But what if new technology could make farming jobs more attractive? According to Tim Bucher, CEO of Agtonomy, one way to address the labor shortage is to reframe farming jobs to appeal to workers with skills gained from unexpected areas, such as video games.

At last week’s CES Ag Tech Summit, hosted by The Spoon, Bucher shared the story of one of Agtonomy’s farming partners who faced a crippling labor shortage. Traditional job postings for tractor drivers had failed to attract candidates, so the partner took a bold step: they adjusted the job description to emphasize “video game experience” for the role of an “AgTech Operator.” The results were remarkable.

“The resume flow exploded,” said Bucher. “They hired ag tech operators who had never set foot in a tractor but were able to operate them and accomplish incredible work.”

This move to leverage new skills goes beyond farming. Some startups are creating platforms specifically optimized for integrating video games and virtual reality expertise. For example, Carbon Origins, a company The Spoon covered at CES three years ago, developed a system that uses virtual reality to operate a bulldozer called “Bobby.” These innovations highlight how skills traditionally seen as unrelated to agriculture or construction are now becoming valuable assets in reimagining labor-intensive industries.

AI and Data Are the New Tractor

In addition to using technology to attract new workers, the technology itself—such as AI and automation—may ultimately be the key to saving many farms that operate on razor-thin margins and struggle to survive in the face of accelerating climate change. During the CES panel, participants highlighted how farmers are leveraging autonomous equipment, precision agriculture tools, and AI-enabled decision-making platforms to better manage their operations.

Jacqueline Heard, CEO of Enko, likened the transformative impact of AI and data-driven tools to that of the tractor, which revolutionized agriculture over the past two centuries.

“If you think about any industrial revolution, that’s what it was—a tractor and autonomy causing this incredible acceleration and making what farmers do easier,” said Heard. “The same goes for AI. Data is the new tractor. I think AI will accelerate just about everything we do, from creating better inputs to solving the massive optimization challenges farmers face on-farm and driving profitability.”

You can watch the entire session below.

AI or Die? Why Farms Must Embrace the AI Revolution to Survive

Soli Organic to Advance Indoor, Soil-Based Agriculture Through Selective Breeding, AI, and Machine Learning

Soli Organic (previously known as Shenandoah Growers) is an agriculture company that operates indoor growing operations to produce organic culinary herbs. Today, the company announced two new partnerships with Rutgers University and AI/IoT company Koidra that will help enhance its cost advantage and increase the accessibility and affordability of its products.

In the multi-year partnership with Rutgers University, Soli Organic will work with plant breeding experts from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. The focus of the collaboration is to optimize the nutrition, flavor, aroma, and yields of selected crops. Additionally, the partners will research what crops that are not feasible for outdoor production but are potentially viable for commercial production in an indoor growing operation.

While leafy greens and herbs are often the most popular types of crops grown via indoor cultivation, there is vast potential for additional crops in this space. Dr. James (Jim) Simon, the Director of the Rutgers New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program, said, “Of the over 400,000 plant species on the planet, we consume less than 100. We have not even scratched the surface of the different flavors and textures of plants. What will be key to a sustainable future is identifying plants that offer consumers the highest nutrient density combined with flavor, texture and shelf appeal, and the lowest possible environmental impact.”

With Koidra’s artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, Soli Organic intends to automate the operation of its growing facilities. This technology will not necessarily replace human growers, but streamline operations and allow growers to make data-informed decisions. In a greenhouse setting, Koidra use of artificial intelligence, data collection, and sensing technology is able to increase yields, profitability, and consistency.

“Soli Organic is relentless in our pursuit of technologies and partnerships that support our vision to offer our retailer partners and consumers nationwide a variety of nutrient-dense, differentiated fresh products in a manner that maximizes profitability while minimizing environmental impact,” said Soli Organic’s Chief Science Officier Tessa Pocock about the new partnerships.

Soli Organic has seven growing facilities and supplies to 20,000 retailers across the country. According to the company, it is the only indoor grower that has soil-based, controlled environment growing operations. Most of the big players in this space, like Gotham Greens, Bright Farms, and Bowery Farming, use hydroponic growing methods instead.

If you have ever seen indoor-grown greens or herbs in your grocery store, you may have noticed that most of these products are a bit pricier than the standard options. Soli Organic already offers affordable herbs, but following the new partnerships, hopes to bring even more indoor-grown produce to consumers.


Food & Ag-Tech Companies Make TIME’s Best 100 Inventions of 2021 List

Every year, TIME puts together a list of 100 inventions that change the way we live for the better. The publication judges contenders, who were nominated by TIME’s editors and correspondents, based on creativity, originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.

The list spans multiple categories, such as accessibility, artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, fitness, medical care, transportation, and of course, food and drink. This year the list featured a whole bunch of food tech, including many companies The Spoon has previously covered like SAVRPak, MeliBio, InnerPlant, and Upside Foods.

Here are just a few that made the list:

Kuleana

This San-Francisco-based food tech start-up has developed a “sushi-grade” plant-based tuna made from ingredients like algae, koji, radish, bamboo, and potato. Kuleana‘s tuna deep red color mimics ahi tuna, and it also contains nutrients like B-12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. Like regular tuna, alternative tuna filet can be eaten in poke bowls, sushi, and ceviche. The start-ups next planned product is plant-based salmon.

SAVRPak

The goal of SAVRPak is to eliminate food waste, and keep delivery food warm and not soggy. In October of this year, the company unveiled a prototype of its delivery packaging aimed at keeping food at 140o or above for more than 20 minutes. The start-up has also developed small packs that can be placed inside to-go food boxes that absorb moisture to keep food fresh and crisp.

Sfoglini Cascatelli

This invention is relatively low-tech, but as one of the three best inventions in the “food and drink” category, it’s worth a mention. Dan Pashman, foodie and the host of The Sporkful podcast, could not find a pasta shape that held the ideal amount of pasta sauce, stayed on the fork, and was satisfying to sink your teeth into. He, therefore, decided to invent, the Cascatelli pasta, which is a short, ruffled noodle that has a half tube shape. The pasta is manufactured by pasta company Sfoglini, and it costs $19.96 for 4 lbs.

MeliBio

Using synthetic biology and precision fermentation, MeliBio has developed plant-based honey that has the same taste, texture, and mouthfeel as honey made from bees. Earlier this year in March, the start-up raised a pre-seed round totaling $850,000. To hear more about the company, watch The Spoon’s interview with the founder Darko Mandich.

Upside Foods

Upside Foods announced in May of this year that its first product will be cultured chicken, which is still pending regulatory approval. Since then, the start-up unveiled its state-of-the-art facilities (totaling 53,000 square feet) in Emeryville, California where it will be capable of producing up to 50,000 pounds of cultivated chicken every year. Check out a glimpse inside the new facilities here.

InnerPlant Innersoy Living Sensor

InnerPlant edits the DNA of plants to enable them to glow a certain color when the plant is stressed from lack of water or under attack from pests or fungal infection. The start-up has so far worked with tomato and Arabidopsis plants, and InnerSoy is the plant it is currently working on commercializing. InnerPlant recently gave The Spoon an exclusive viewing of its glowing living sensor plants, and you can watch the video here.

Napa Valley Winery Uses Cisco’s IoT Sensors in Vineyard

Bouchaine Vineyards, based in Napa Valley, California, shared this week that it has integrated Cisco Systems‘ sensor technology throughout its 100 acres of vineyards.

The Cisco Industrial Asset Vision sensors are installed in multiple areas throughout the vineyard to gather data points, including humidity, water availability, temperature, and light. Large vineyards are broken up into “blocks” separated based on topographic features or soil type. The sensors track data block-by-block and upload it to a real-time dashboard.

Each block might receive a different amount of light, and Cisco’s technology can determine how much light is hitting each grapevine in a single block. This information gives insight into the development of tannins and can also be used to inform leafing, fruit thinning, and irrigation of the vines.

A critical insight for the California-based vineyard is water usage. With California constantly experiencing droughts and strain on water sources, knowing when to irrigate is essential. Since the sensors track temperature, this can help the winery irrigate the vines when only necessary, therefore reducing its water usage.

According to a study done by Cornell University, climate change has reduced farm productivity by 20 percent since the 1960s. As a result, farmers are increasingly embracing Internet of Things technology like Cisco’s to monitor and adapt to changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity to fight back. Arable has developed sensor-filled discs that monitor metrics like rainfall, humidity, soil moisture, plant temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, and chlorophyll index. InnerPlant actually turns plants into “living sensors” that change color when something is wrong with it (disease, pests, not enough water, etc.). Another agtech company called CropX uses in-ground sensors to measure soil moisture.

In addition to sensors, Bouchaine uses Cisco Webex, a virtual meeting and event platform, to allow its customers to book virtual tastings through the winery. In the virtual tastings, customers can view a live stream of the vineyard, and a dashboard with information gathered from the sensors.

John Deere Acquires Bear Flag Robotics for $250M

John Deere announced today that it is acquiring autonomous tractor driving technology startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. According to the press announcement, “The deal accelerates the development and delivery of automation and autonomy on the farm and supports John Deere’s long-term strategy to create smarter machines with advanced technology to support individual customer needs.”

Bear Flag’s technology turns tractors into self-driving vehicles, allowing them to autonomously complete tasks such as spraying, mowing, discing and rippling. The fact that Bear Flag sold for that much is pretty impressive, considering the company had only raised a total $12.5 million.

But the big price tag is a reflection of the growing importance of automation in agriculture, which is in the midst of severe labor shortages that are getting worse. In addition to being short staffed, farm work is hard work that can involve heavy lifting in extreme heat for long hours, or managing fields in inclement weather. Automation like that from Bear Flag Robotics can run in adverse conditions without needing to take a break or run the risk of getting injured. Additionally, automation and robots can bring about more data and precision to agricultural processes, reducing the amount of herbicides and pesticides used, as well as optimizing fertilizer and water usage.

As is always the case in a market sector when a big acquisition happens, industry watchers will start to guess who the next acquisition target will be. There are actually a number of ag tech robotics startups that could be, well, ripe for picking. Augean Robotics and Future Acres both make autonomous vehicle platforms for farms that are meant to haul crops and gear around. Farmwise makes an autonomous weeding robot. And Small Robot Company makes a trio of autonomous robots to map and zap weeds.

It’s also worth noting that this is not John Deere’s first trip to the farm robot rodeo. In 2017 the company bought Blue River Technology, which made the LettuceBot robot for $305 million.

If you want to learn more about agricultural automation, check out the video from the “Crops and Robots: How Automation is Changing Agriculture” panel we held at our ArticulATE food robotics conference in May that featured Aubrey Donnellan, Founder and COO of Bear Flag Robotics (Spoon Plus subscription required).

Food Tech News: Vanillin Made From Plastic Waste, Plant-Based Pâté, and Strella Biotechnology’s Win

The sun is sweltering, the flowers are in full bloom, and food tech news is coming in hot. In this week’s roundup, we have news on the launch of a plant-based pâté, the winner of GS1 US Startup Lab Pitch Competition, scientists transforming used plastic into a food flavoring, and a fully compostable coffee pod.

Plant-based pâté launches in U.S.

Plantcraft shared in an email this week that its plant-based pâté has entered the U.S. market after launching in Erewhon’s (an organic grocer in the Los Angeles area) six locations. The plant-based pâté is made from a combination of ingredients including green banana flour, golden flax seeds, sunflower protein, and grapeseed oil. In the plant-based space, many companies produce meat analogs like burger patties, sausages, crumbles, and strips, but alternatives to charcuterie meats like pâté are uncommon. In addition to pâté, Plantcraft will also launch plant-based pepperoni slices, which will debut in August at the National Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you do not live near an Erewhon, Plantcraft will be making its pâté available for foodservice locations and on its website in the upcoming months.

Strella Biotechnology wins first prize in lab pitch competition

Strella Biotechnology is an ag-tech startup that uses sensors to measure produce maturity, and it was recently announced the winner of the third-annual GS1 US Startup Lab Pitch Competition. The startup won the first prize of $10,000 and will be writing a white paper with GS1 about supply chain practices and how technology can be used to improve them. The company has recently been focused on is expanding its apples and pear packing business, where it monitors the storage of these perishables for packers. Additionally, Strella has gotten involved in monitoring shipping containers traveling overseas filled with perishable produce. Katherine Sizov, the founder of Strella, said the company is currently hiring and looking to partner with more retail chains.

Scientists convert post consumer plastic to vanillin

A team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh has discovered a novel method of converting post-consumer PET plastic to vanillin, an organic compound often used as a flavoring agent in the food industry. For the conversion, the team engineered the bacteria E. coli to transform a molecule derived from PET, called terephthalic acid. This transformation resulted in the molecule that gives real vanilla its taste and smell. Vanillin, produced from various sources such as wood pulp, raw petrochemical materials, or biomass, is cheaper and easier to come by than real vanilla, which is a product of orchids. The researchers believe that the vanillin they produced could be consumed by humans, but more research needs to be conducted to confirm.

NEXE launches fully compostable coffee pods

NEXE Innovations, a material company that develops plant-based products, shared this week about the launch of its new coffee products packaged in compostable pods under the brand XOMA Superfoods. The coffee pods can be used in a Keurig, and varieties include mushroom-infused, MCT-infused, and high-fat Keto coffee. The pod packaging is made from plant fiber, compostable polymers, and a bamboo casing, and is fully compostable in as little as 35 days. NEXE encourages consumers to dispose of the pods in the green commercial composting bins, but also says that pods can be added to your backyard composting set up. The pods are currently available for purchase, and the Xoma variety pack consists of 12 pods that costs $11.99.

Subpod Takes the Mess (and Smell) Out of Composting

Composting is a seemingly simple solution that all of us could participate in to help reduce the amount of food waste that enters the landfill. However, we offer plenty of excuses not to do it, like our available space or the smell. Enter the Subpod. This startup is producing mini composting units that are buried directly into your garden, keeping it out of sight — and smell.

The Subpod Mini is capable of composting up to 22 lbs of food per week, which is impressive considering its small size (16.93″ high by 19.45″ wide and 17.72″ deep). What makes this composting system different than other traditional models is that it is inserted directly into a garden bed and functions as a worm farm. It requires the same amount of effort as a traditional system, as the user’s job is only to dump composting scraps into the unit. From here, the worms and microbes in the soil do the work of breaking down the scraps. A head of lettuce takes roughly seven days to breakdown in the Subpod Mini.

One slight downside to this setup is that worms are required for it to work. Approximately 500 composting worms must be purchased separately, which can be found locally or online for about $40-$50.

Roughly 108 billion pounds of food is wasted each year in America, which is a lot of extra (and unnecessary) weight in our landfills. In addition to reducing the amount of food in landfills, composting can also reduce methane emissions, and increase water retention and carbon sequestration when added to the soil. A German-based startup called Kalea launched an in-home composter that converts food scraps to compost in 48 hours, but the appliance will set you back $889 USD. Vitamix also released an in-home composter that is compact enough to fit on a counter, and it is priced more affordably at $399.

It’s great the startups all over the globe are offering different equipment to deal with food waste on an individual level. There are a growing number of options to choose from for managing food waste, but it seems to come down to simply getting people to commit to composting. For those who are interested in composting, the Subpod Mini is available at a reduced pre-order price of $119 for a limited time. Pre-orders are expected to ship out in June 2021.

Finistere Ventures Launches New Agrifood Fund in New Zealand

Food tech-focused firm Finistere Ventures announced today the launch of its Finistere Aotearoa Fund done in partnership with New Zealand Growth Capital Partners. The $40 million NZD (~$28.1 million USD) fund will support early-stage companies developing technologies for agriculture, alternative protein, supply chain, and other areas of food tech.

Finistere is no stranger to food tech, having invested in the past in CropX, Memphis Meats, Plenty, and several other well-known innovators in the food world. The goal of the Aotearoa Fund, besides supporting more such innovation, is to invest in specifically New Zealand startups to get them the help they need to make an impact worldwide. 

“While more than $46B has been invested in agrifood tech over the last decade – a trend likely to increase with the growing focus on sustainability – New Zealand hasn’t had the connected capital players necessary to help our companies take full advantage of this trend,” said Dean Tilyard, founder and director of Sprout who will now lead the new fund. “Our innovation cluster here is as good as anything in the Netherlands or Israel, but has been less well known. That is changing.”

Finistere, of course, already has offices in New Zealand. The new fund’s operations will be based in Palmerston North at R&D incubation center The Factory, which Finistere already has a longstanding relationship with. The fund will focus on a number of areas within food tech, including crop protection technologies, nutrient management, alternative proteins, food delivery, and supply chain advances. 

The launch comes the same week another fund, PeakBridge FoodSparks, launched in Europe with a focus on early-stage agricultural and food tech startups in that region. Both funds underscore the recent growth of the food tech sector, which nabbed more than $4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Pitchbook data.  

Finistere hasn’t yet said how many companies it is looking to invest in with the fund, but did note that over the next year, it plans to garner more investment from partners including Rabobank, RIV Capital, and Yamaha. 

Zayndu Uses Plasma for Seed Sterilization and Crop Loss Prevention

Electricity may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you want to sterilize something, but that is exactly the tool UK-based startup Zayndu is using on seeds. As AgFunder reports, Zayndu uses plasma to ensure that seeds don’t carry disease or fungi with them when planted in the ground.

Afflicted seeds may not germinate as well, or worse, bring infection into the soil and damage future crops. Sterilizing seeds before planting helps mitigate these issues.

Based on decades of research from Loughborough University, the early stage Zayndu’s technology works by placing seeds in a rotating drum and then running an electric current through the air inside the chamber. As Ralph Weir, CEO of Zayndu explained to AgFunder, this electric current creates plasma, which is a combination of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species [RONS]. These RONS are disinfectants, which destroy bacteria, fungi and viruses without damaging the seeds themselves. When the chamber is open, all that is left are sterile seeds and fresh air.

According to Weir, Zayndu’s plasma technology sterilizes seeds better than existing chemical treatments do. Chemicals have can have a negative environmental impact and are increasingly expensive. Additionally, chemicals don’t work on every seed disease.

Zayndu is actually the second startup we’ve covered using plasma to prevent food loss. Clean Crop Technologies uses High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma to zap food post harvest to remove toxins, molds and pests, and extend the shelf-life of perishables.

If the promise of these technologies bear out, and are able to scale, we could be seeing more plasma-related startups and technologies applied to our meal journey in the not-too distant future.

ADIO Invests $41M to Improve Farming on Land, at Sea, and in Space

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced today it will invest AED 152 million (~$41 million USD) across three ag tech companies to develop new ag tech innovations on land, at sea, and in space. According to a press release sent to The Spoon, ADIO has partnered with U.S.-based Nanoracks, India-based FreshToHome, and UAE-based Pure Harvest for the initiatives. 

ADIO said in today’s press release that the new partnerships will promote more innovation in ag tech specifically as it relates to food security challenges. One major issue highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic is the fragility of the global food system. In response, various countries, including Singapore, China, and those in the European Union, are fostering innovation at the government level in an effort to improve local food production, build more traceability into the supply chain, and establish more trust between consumers and food producers.

In the United Arab Emirates, one regionally specific challenge is growing more food in a desert climate, in which the ag industry deals with minimal water supply, non-arable land, and climate change issues like drought and rising temperatures. ADIO’s investments are in companies that can both assist in solving these regional challenges and address the issue of food security on a global scale.

Hence, space farming. Nanoracks, one of ADIO’s three new partners, uses the International Space Station and is building the first-ever space research program for ag tech. Its StarLab Space Farming Center in Abu Dhabi will research facility focused on food production both in space and in “equally extreme climates on Earth.” (Spoon readers will recognize Nanoracks as the company that made the Zero G oven, capable of baking cookies in space.)

ADIO’s FreshToHome partnership, meanwhile, will expand the latter’s operational and processing capabilities across land and sea in the UAE. FreshToHome operates an e-commerce platform for fresh produce and controls every point along the supply chain. ADIO said in today’s release that the partnership will also focus on innovations for fish farming and cold chain technology.

Finally, Pure Harvest will use the new partnership to advance its technology and processes for produce grown in controlled environments. That includes more artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, and machines optimized for desert temperatures. The company will also advance work on its commercial-scale algae bioreactor facility to grow Omega-3 fatty acids.

The new partnerships are part of ADIO’s AgTech Incentive Programme, which the Abu Dhabi Government’s Ghadan 21 Accelerator Programme established in 2019. Previous investments from the AgTech Incentive Programme include the $100 million (USD) investment ADIO made in April across four companies: AeroFarms, Madar Farms, Responsive Drip Irrigation, and RNZ.