Y E A R I N R E V I E W’18I N V E S T I N G R E P O R TEuropean AgriFood TechSee our portfolio companies: agfunder.com/listingsOur in-house technology enables us to invest globally and at scale and helps us make smarter investment decisions. Through our media and research platform, AgFunder has built an community of over 60,000 members and subscribers, giving us the largest and most powerful network in the industry to help us support our portfolio companies and get them in front of decision makers.AgFunder is a global Venture Capital platformAre you a Corporate, Startup, or Investor? Learn how to get engagedagfunder.comWe invest in bold, exceptional entrepreneurs transforming our food and agriculture systemAGRIFOOD TECH FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM3F&A Next is dedicated to accelerating innovation in Food and Agriculture by connecting major players. The F&A Next community consists of entrepreneurs, corporates, investors and scientists, who are dedicated to innovation in food and agriculture. F&A Next is expanding its community. Join us!F&A Next FoundersAGRIFOOD TECH FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM4INTRODUCTIONAgriFood Tech Funding in Europe: 2018While the global food tech ecosystem has shown remarkable growth in recent years, Europe has clearly established is own pace and particularities. Europe is regularly positioned as one united market and often characterized as less entrepreneurial with more risk-averse and less sophisticated investors. However it is a continent with many borders, cultures and preferences. Consequently, it lacks a competitive edge when it comes to the average farm size or the consumer base of one country. In addition, government regulation, on food safety for example, varies per country, too. As you will read in this report, European trends in agrifood investments are similar to those in the US, with a few exceptions and a more even spread of technologies. Novel farming systems, particularly indoor agriculture, are strong on the continent, undoubtedly related to Europe’s leading role in horticulture. Europe is also home to a number of insect farming groups aiming to provide protein replacements for traditional feed and food ingredients. Overall investment in agrifood tech startups in Europe ison the rise. Expertise, research and available capital have improved sharply, boosting overall startup activity in the industry. A healthy funnel of quality earlier stage companies is being developed along with a (slowly) growing number of seed stage investors. Later stage capital for sizable follow-up rounds, however, is still underdeveloped. Corporate venture capital is slowly gaining relevance in the European startup ecosystem but overall Europe is still playing catch up. To stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe, Rabobank, Wageningen University & Research, Anterra Capital and Star...
