Larry Li’s Post

Five years ago today, on May 2nd 2019, Beyond Meat began trading on the NASDAQ as a public company. At the time, it was the most successful IPO in more than 20 years, and its market value would soar to over $10 billion, becoming a rarified “decacorn.”   But recently, the alt-protein movement has faced setbacks and adversity, calling into question whether or not the plant-based “revolution” we were promised is indeed coming.     In my newest Third Nature Investments blog, I reflect on being an early investor in Beyond Meat, the environmental and human health benefits of alternative protein, the challenges to overcome, and where we go from here.   Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gFH4tM2i   #systemicinvesting #plantbased #climatechange #altprotein

🤓 Having seen and reviewed over 1,000 past applications to Future Food Asia Awards (🤯), we've picked up a thing or two about nailing that Series A funding round. Plus, we've notched up a cool 13 investments on our own and chipped in to double that number through our wide-reaching investor network. We've got your back!   Our two cents?   Stop reading doomsday stories about venture funding returning to Ice Age or going extinct. And don't just sit around waiting for the ice caps to thaw, either! 😱   Check out these 5 easy tips from our awesome team. They'll not only boost your chances of snagging the USD 100,000 Grand Prize or the Cargill Award for the Nutrition of Tomorrow at Future Food Asia 24 but also make applying a breeze. Link to apply: https://lnkd.in/eU3b7W3w Deadline: 15 March 2024 Thanks to our amazing partners Cargill, A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research, IFC - International Finance Corporation, Bühler Group and Roquette And media partners FoodNavigator Asia, VCearth, ASIA FOOD BEVERAGES REPORT and The DairyNews Global

Years ago, when the TransCap Initiative's work on systemic investing was in its infancy, we were looking for cases of traditional impact investing that were financial successes but failed to deliver deep, structural, and lasting change in the systems that matter most for human prosperity, including food and agriculture. Learning about Jason W. Ingle's early-stage investment in Beyond Meat was a turning point for us, as it provided a compelling story through which to explain the limitations of single-asset investing. "To maximize impact, we need to see the fuller picture and identify opportunities for our portfolio companies to reinforce each other," says Jason in this article published under his new firm Third Nature Investments. That's #systemicinvesting in a nutshell. https://lnkd.in/dg9vb3et

I love this story! It was total #serendipity! Check out the article linked below from earlier this summer. It tells the story of how the #accelerator, now 5 years old originally came to be! #Dairy #Innovation

Nova Agritech IPO: Nova Agritech IPO will open on January 22, know the price band and GMP. #Agritech #Band #businessnews #GMP #IPO #january #newagritechipo #nonews #Nova #NovaAgritech #novaagritechipodate #NovaAgritechIPOGMP #novaagritechipogmptoday #NovaAgritechIPOLotSize #NovaAgritechLimited #NovaAgritechLimitedIPO #novaagritechshareprice #open #price

👏 👏 👏 Congrats to #Danish VC Kost Capital on closing its first targeted fund of €25 million. 💐 Kost Capital is a new food tech VC focused on early-stage companies across Europe. It plans on investing in pre-seed and seed startups across Europe, focusing on B2B inputs in the future of food. 🔦 We at the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands wish Kost Capital nothing but 💪 for 2024! . . . The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurs #Startups #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #DanishStartup #TechDenmark #DenmarkVC #FoodTEch #FoodTechVC

ProducePay Secures $38M in Series D Financing ProducePay has recently announced that it has raised $38 million in Series D financing, which is led by Syngenta Group Ventures and involves participation from CF Private Equity and other existing investors. The funding will be used to expand globally and make technological advancements in ProducePay’s Predictable Commerce Platform, which addresses the volatility in fresh produce supply chains. ProducePay’s platform has already facilitated more than $4.5 billion in transactions with the aim of reducing economic and food waste by providing improved transparency and predictability. The company's partnership with Four Star Fruit demonstrates considerable efficiency improvements and waste reduction, highlighting the platform’s potential impact across the industry. Read more here -> https://lnkd.in/eVyarbrF #igrownews

Foodtech VC deal activity declined in Q4 2023, in large part due to food price inflation, elevated interest rates and a challenging exit environment. In Q4 2023, US$1.7bn were invested across 279 transactions, representing a 39.8% and 9.7% QoQ drop in deal value and deal volume, respectively.   Within foodtech, three sub-verticals registered funding increases: novel ingredients, molecular engineering and ghost kitchens. Notably, Bonumose raised US$36.7mm (alternative sugars), Voyage Foods raised US$22.0mm (nut, cocoa and coffee alternatives), and Wonder Distribution raised US$100.0mm (ghost kitchen).

Thanks AgFunder and PeakBridge for this great read about the current potential of Foodtech from an investor point of view! In particular the part about the type of exits, very insightful!

Two or three years ago, investors were throwing bucetkloads of cash at #foodtech companies, particularly those in so-called #alternativeproteins. Since then, funding has started to dry up, sales of #meatalternatives have moved into negative territory in some markets, and some commentators argue that we’ve already reached peak alt meat. Meanwhile, some investors that used to be dedicated to alt proteins are now broadening their aperture to talk more about #climatetech or #foodasmedicine. So has #altprotein lost its luster for foodtech investors, or are we just seeing a much-needed correction after the heady days of cheap money, “tourist capital” and inflated valuations? I caught up with three investors specializing in alt protein to talk about funding past, present and future... Big thanks to Tom Mastrobuoni at Big Idea Ventures, Dan Altschuler Malek  at Unovis Asset Management, and Lisa Feria  at Stray Dog Capital  for joining my panel! Louisa Burwood-Taylor Watch the full session AgFunder News here: https://lnkd.in/gj-3fqQb