"Agtech's 'great reset' continues" says AgTechNavigator in their analysis of Q124 PitchBook Agtech funding. -- Agtech has been around 2.2% of all VC deals since '18 but was 1.6% in Q1 -- Versus Q423, VC dollars ($1.2b) invested was down 26%, VC deals were down 20% (161) and exits dropped from 11 to 6. -- About 20% of all funding went into two deals, Oishii ($144m) and Inari ($103). Inari is sitting at a $1.65b valuation. -- Indoor farming funding was down 5x from its peak in 2021 -- Pre-money valuations were down 8.6% vs. 2023 -- Pitchbook did see some upticks in a few deal categories: 9 biomaterial, 28 plant biotech, 25 agribusiness marketplace, and 11 aquaculture deals. -- Pitchbook also sees promise in blockchain and called Indigo "ahead of the curve". Perhaps this report was published before Indigo's new CEO announced their reorg on 5/2 following three rounds of layoffs. Walt Duflock Seana Day Vonnie Estes Shane Thomas Better Food Ventures Michael Rose Chris Taylor Howard Chao Katie Grimble https://lnkd.in/gcdKSQEv
Opinion: Start ups that were early enough to embed AI and robotic solutions into their operations last year will emerge from the rubble early 2025 with some unbelievable advancements and break this downturn. Controversial Opinion: I do not mean agtech Start Ups who have invested in AI for the last decade. The speed that AI and robotics have become commoditized is wild.
Corrections in valuations are healthy, and they signal a great time to be investing versus the peak before the correction. Ventures who can survive a capital drought and continue to advance their companies will be well positioned to spring forward as easier access to capital inevitably returns. And even during the correction there are still investment deals happening every month, but the validation requirements are definitely a lot more to navigate.
I have some amazing agtech clients ready to share with focused investors. Let’s talk!
Growth Strategy @ Silver Fern Farms
10moRob, what about the pace of pitches coming through? Are you seeing a slowdown there as well or just in the raises?