This week, Colombian ghost kitchen startup Foodology scooped up $50 million to expand in Latin America and Estonia-based FlyFeed landed funds for its insect farming ambitions. Additionally, rapid grocery delivery continues its path to consolidation as Getir starts up talks to buy Gorillas.
Foodtech funding
🇨🇴 Foodology bags $50 million to expand its cloud kitchen startup across LatAm. Reggaeton superstar Maluma and Abu Dhabi’s Chimera Investments, among others, participated the Series A extension round. (Bloomberg)
🇸🇬 Food delivery software startup klikit raises $2 million to expand across Southeast Asia. Global Founders Capital and Wavemaker Partners led the pre-seed round. (e27)
🇺🇸 Pulp Culture raises $7 million for alcohol-based “functional beverages. The Kale Fund led the Series A round. (Food Business News)
🇦🇺 Foodini raises $700,000 AUD ($439,000) to match diners’ dietary needs with appropriate restaurants. The app is now launching in Melbourne and will expand to the rest of Australia by the end of the year. (Startup Daily)
🇮🇳 Co-living & smart food court firm Isthara raises $10 million to expand further into retail foodtech. Dubai-based Eagle Investments led the round. (EnTracker)
Agtech funding
🇺🇸 Soli Organic raises $125 million to expand its indoor soil-based vertical farming operation across the US. Climate-focused global investment group CDPQ led the Series D round. (AFN)
🇪🇪 FlyFeed catches €3 million ($2.9 million) from angel investors. The Tallinn-based startup will construct its first industrial-sized insect farm in Vietnam in 2023. (Silicon Canals)
🇦🇺 Livestock management platform AgriWebb secures $6.7 million Series B. New investors Germin8 Ventures and iSelect Fund participated in the round, which will go towards new partnerships, features and capabilities. (Financial Review)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will double the capacity of its CEA Center of Excellence. The USDA is using Amplified Ag’s technology for its research. (Vertical Farming Daily)
🇹🇷 🇩🇪 Getir is in talks to acquire its rapid delivery rival Gorillas. The acquisition could be completed by the end of next month. (UKTN)
Other news
🇮🇳 Food and bev startup Licious launches “India’s first” D2C plant-based meat brand. Products from the new UnCrave brand are available through the Licious app, marketplaces and stores. (Tech in Asia)
🇺🇸 Impossible Foods lays off 6% of employees. The layoffs involve “roles that have become redundant to others in the organization or that are no longer aligned with our core business priorities,” according to a memo. (Food Dive)
🇺🇸 Revol Greens becomes largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America. The indoor farming company will double its romaine lettuce production in 2023. (Food Navigator)
🇸🇬 Meatiply unveils Asia’s first alternative duck breast. The company’s offerings, which also include kampong chicken yakitori and chicken katsu bites are a mixture of cultivated and plant-based ingredients. (Green Queen)
🇺🇸 Grubhub, Starship send delivery bots to five university campuses. This latest partnership expand’s Grubhub’s college delivery partnerships to more than 250 US campuses. (Restaurant Dive)
