Financial Times writer Emiko Terazono reported last month that, “Global investment in agricultural and food technology fell almost 5 per cent in 2019, as funding for food delivery services declined sharply amid a wider pullback in the venture capital industry.
“Total funding dipped to $19.8bn, according to a preliminary tally by AgFunder, an online food and agritech venture capital platform, with the number of deals down 15 per cent to 1,858.
“Although established companies in the food-delivery market raised hefty amounts last year, including a $1bn financing by DoorDash and $575m by Deliveroo, overall funding in the sector plunged 56 per cent to $2.4bn, as rising competition discouraged investors from backing new entrants, said Louisa Burwood-Taylor at AgFunder.”
The FT article noted that, “By geography, investments in the US, the sector leader, fell 2 per cent to $8.7bn, while those in China, the second-largest, dived 40 per cent to $3.2bn. Financing in Europe increased 94 per cent to $3.3bn, led by the UK, while Latin American start-ups raised $1.4bn, up 32 per cent.”
