2023 has been a tough year for agrifoodtech startups, with high interest rates, inflation, fundraising challenges, banking scares, and souring investor sentiment in sectors from indoor ag to alt proteins, prompting pivots, layoffs, and business failures.
Investors quizzed by AgFunder this month noted the exit of ‘tourist capital’ from the sector, more realistic valuations, and a renewed focus on profitable business models rather than growth at all costs, although some believe we’ve now veered from “a cycle of over-hype” to an over-correction.
Schadenfreude is easy, says Yoni Glickman at PeakBridge’s seed fund FoodSparks, “But too many people celebrated failures rather than learning from them, and in the end, we – the planet, humanity – actually need to be collectively successful.”
Here are some of the highlights (and a few low lights) from 2023, plus some key areas to watch in 2024, from designer probiotics to livestock methane reduction.
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The synthetic biology field combines biology, engineering, and computer science to design and construct new biological systems or modify existing ones by reprogramming the genetic code of organisms from microbes to plants to animal cells. Applications span everything from bananas engineered to resist the devastating Fusarium wilt fungal disease (Elo Life Systems) to bacteria engineered to stave off a hangover (ZBiotics).