AUSTRALIA’S PROSPEROUS AGRIFOOD TECH SECTOR

With the development of new restaurant technologies and the emergence of plant-based protein companies, Australia has developed a reputation for being an agricultural powerhouse.

Words: Lauren Lefever

AgriFutures Australia is a research and development corporation with a mission to increase the prosperity of Australian and rural communities. The company conducts research and development programs for numerous emerging industries, and has aided in the development of the growAG platform and evokeAG event and network.

The company has taken many strides throughout the last few years to invest in Australia’s agrifood system, and it appears that this diligent work is paying off.

The Report

On 26 October 2022, the inaugural Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2022 was released in Singapore by venture capital firm AgFunder, partnering with

AgriFutures, growAG and evokeAG.

The report shows that throughout 2021, 55 deals involving Australian startups have been made and more than half a million dollars have been raised by investors, which is a positive outlook for the rest of the year.

The three biggest investment deals were as follows:

• Melbourne-based mobile ordering platform MrYum ($100 million)

• V2 Foods ($83 million)

• Cloud kitchen startup EatClub ($63 million)

Arianna Sipel, AgriFutures Australia senior manager, is impressed with the growing maturity and diversity of the sector in Australia.

“The investment deals we’ve seen in 2021 spanned everything from eGrocery and in-store retail tech to farm management software and sensing, so it shows the diversity of commercial opportunities in Australia,” says Arianna.

AGRIFUTURE’S GROWAG AND EVOKEAG PLATFORMS

AgriFutures Australia is also excited about using the growAG and evokeAG platforms to continue growing investment and collaboration in Australian agrifood tech.

GrowAG is an online database that allows users to find world-leading agricultural research, technologies and commercialisation opportunities. By facilitating connections across the Australian agritech ecosystem, growAG makes it easier for startup companies to promote their commercial opportunities. This allows researchers, producers, investors and entrepreneurs to connect with one another.

Thanks to growAG, Brisbanebased farm robotics company Lyro was able to connect with Artesian Ventures. This connection eventually led to an investment deal. Since then, Lyro has been able to raise an additional US$1.5 million to deliver 20 autonomous robotic packers to its clients.

More recently, AgriFutures has created its AgriFutures evokeAG event, a startup program that allows agrifood tech startups to show off their latest innovations and projects. The event took place in Adelaide in February, giving entrepreneurs a platform for showcasing agrifood innovations and pitching ideas to investors, as well as presenting products to an audience. Entrepreneurs can submit applications to their Startup Alley, a platform for showcasing agrifood innovations, their Startup Showcase, an event where seven startups present their products to an audience, or their Investor Pitch Dinner, an event where entrepreneurs can present their investment-ready ideas to investors.

The Future Of Agrifoodtech

The Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report also shows that the future for agrifood tech is bright. Investments in Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech startups set a record in 2021 with US$15.2 billion allocated towards the cause. At this rate, the positive trajectory is set to continue. The Asia-Pacific area has seen a 15 per cent year-on-year increase in funding in the first half of 2022. Farm tech is also maturing, with funding in the region reaching US$2.2 billion, double what it was in 2020. There has also been a 17.5 per cent increase in the number of investment deals.

AgFunder founding partner and Asia-Pacific head Michael Dean notes that Australia has a lot of potential agrifood tech investments.

“Early on we saw the potential of the region, with its booming population growth and emerging centres of technology innovation, as a destination for agrifood tech venture investment. We established our GROW Accelerator and Singaporebased venture impact funds to assist institutional and corporate investors in the region to access the disruptive technologies that have the potential to drive efficiencies, profitability and sustainability for decades to come,” says Michael.

The dedicated work of many companies in Australia’s growing agrifood tech sector has paid off, and will continue to make a difference for years to come.