{"id":55471,"date":"2021-08-27T09:53:44","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T08:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/?p=55471&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=55471"},"modified":"2021-08-27T09:53:43","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T08:53:43","slug":"agfunder-closes-21-million-alternative-protein-fund-oversubscribed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/businesswire\/agfunder-closes-21-million-alternative-protein-fund-oversubscribed\/","title":{"rendered":"AgFunder Closes $21 Million Alternative Protein Fund Oversubscribed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li><i>AgFunder, one of the world\u2019s most active foodtech and agtech investors, announces the final close of its alternative protein fund: New Carnivore<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>A range of corporate, institutional, and high net worth investors participated in the raise, including Archer-Daniels-Midland and Alexandria Venture Investments<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>Along with the close, AgFunder announces New Carnivore\u2019s first seven investments in early-stage companies building alternative meat, dairy, and materials products<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SAN FRANCISCO&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/agrifood?src=hash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#agrifood<\/a>&#8211;AgFunder, the leading foodtech and agtech VC firm, today announces the final close of New Carnivore, its alternative protein fund, on US$21 million. The fund was oversubscribed, surpassing its hard cap.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20210826005103\/en\/567162\/5\/AgFunder_logo_COLOR_-_square.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20210826005103\/en\/567162\/21\/AgFunder_logo_COLOR_-_square.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>ADM Ventures, the VC arm of the global food and commodities company Archer-Daniels-Midland, invested in the fund. <a href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.are.com%2Fventure-investments.html&amp;esheet=52482034&amp;newsitemid=20210826005103&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Alexandria+Venture+Investments&amp;index=1&amp;md5=e034e874ef2e6cf5b3ae4e8e675e8af9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alexandria Venture Investments<\/a>, a unit of US$30 billion real estate investment trust <a href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.are.com%2F&amp;esheet=52482034&amp;newsitemid=20210826005103&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Alexandria+Real+Estate+Equities&amp;index=2&amp;md5=a073dd1c067642d2688a0bdee10f3272\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alexandria Real Estate Equities<\/a>, also participated.<\/p>\n<p>New Carnivore has made seven investments to date, co-investing with leading VCs such as a16z, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and DCVC, as well as celebrities like Natalie Portman, John Legend, and Jay-Z. The fund is targeting 20 investments overall.<\/p>\n<p>The current portfolio includes:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>Nobell Foods (US), a plant-based cheese company using soybean plants to produce casein &#8211; one of the key proteins found in cows\u2019 milk that\u2019s responsible for giving cheese its stretch, melt, and mouthfeel.<\/li>\n<li>SIMULATE (US), a plant-based chicken nuggets and patties company that has drawn an almost cult following through its direct-to-consumer strategy.<\/li>\n<li>Alpha Foods (US), plant-based company with versions of favorites like burritos, pizzas, and pot pies.<\/li>\n<li>Mycoworks (US), a cowhide leather alternative using mycelium that has partnered with luxury brand Herm\u00e8s on a sell-out handbag.<\/li>\n<li>Integriculture (Japan), a picks and shovels producer for cell-cultured meat production, solving one of the emergent industry\u2019s biggest challenges.<\/li>\n<li>Lavva (US), a plant-based yogurt company using pili nuts, a superfood discovered by the founder while treating her cancer.<\/li>\n<li>Fable Food Co (Australia), a vegan meat substitute company using shiitake mushrooms that\u2019s been endorsed by chef Heston Blumenthal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cADM is focused on developing innovative new alternative protein ingredients and solutions that center around nutrition, sustainability and health and wellness to help address the pressing challenge of feeding the world\u2019s growing population,\u201d says Ian Pinner, ADM\u2019s Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. \u201cInvesting in this particular fund allows us to collaborate with new players in the industry and leverage our deep expertise in fermentation to accelerate the commercialization of new technologies and solutions that can become game-changers in this important market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>AgFunder\u2019s thesis for New Carnivore rests on the fact that humans have consistently replaced animals with technology throughout history: cars replaced horses, petroleum replaced whales, tractors replaced oxen, and so on. \u201cFood is next,\u201d says Rob Leclerc, Founding Partner at AgFunder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGlobally, entrepreneurs are reinventing how we make products we\u2019ve traditionally derived from animals. Applying the latest technologies from biotech, tissue engineering, artificial intelligence, and food science, entrepreneurs are creating new animal-free products that are cheaper, healthier, tastier, and more sustainable. Even if they\u2019re moderately successful, they\u2019ll have an opportunity to capture a meaningful portion of the $1.5 trillion animal protein market. Opportunities don\u2019t come much bigger than that,\u201d says Leclerc.<\/p>\n<p>The environmental case is also clear. Animal agriculture accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, occupies 80% of the world\u2019s agricultural land, and eats one-third of the world\u2019s grain. But it provides only 18% of our calories. Nevertheless, demand for protein is rising all over the world and current animal agriculture systems cannot support that growth without wreaking further havoc on the planet. With increasingly conscious consumers, the creation of social media-enhanced food tribes, the emergence of new technologies, and the rise of mission-driven entrepreneurs, the time for ground-breaking innovation in this category is now.<\/p>\n<p><b>About AgFunder:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>AgFunder is one of the world\u2019s most active foodtech and agtech VCs. Through its media platform <i><a href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fagfundernews.com&amp;esheet=52482034&amp;newsitemid=20210826005103&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=AFN&amp;index=3&amp;md5=a8abfd6b21d0b86f1fac37c61a19ddb1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">AFN<\/a>,<\/i> it has built a global ecosystem of over 90,000 subscribers, giving it a powerful network to help build impactful companies that can positively transform the world&#8217;s food system. Founded in 2013, AgFunder manages a portfolio of over 50 companies across four funds from offices in Silicon Valley and Singapore.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.agfunder.com&amp;esheet=52482034&amp;newsitemid=20210826005103&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=www.agfunder.com&amp;index=4&amp;md5=c7916d642e6058948c870603e5cb9c7c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">www.agfunder.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 0;height: 0\" src=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20210826005103r1&amp;sid=web01&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><b>Contacts<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Rob Leclerc<\/p>\n<p>Founding Partner<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:rob@agfunder.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">rob@agfunder.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AgFunder, one of the world\u2019s most active foodtech and agtech investors, announces the final close of its alternative protein fund: New Carnivore A range of corporate, institutional, and high net worth investors participated in the raise, including Archer-Daniels-Midland and Alexandria Venture Investments Along with the close, AgFunder announces New Carnivore\u2019s first seven investments in early-stage companies building alternative meat, dairy, and materials products SAN FRANCISCO&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211;#agrifood&#8211;AgFunder, the leading foodtech and agtech VC firm, today announces the final close of New Carnivore, its alternative protein fund, on US$21 million. The fund was oversubscribed, surpassing its hard cap. ADM Ventures, the VC arm of the global food and commodities company Archer-Daniels-Midland, invested in the fund. Alexandria Venture Investments, a unit of US$30 billion real estate investment trust &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"AgFunder Closes $21 Million Alternative Protein Fund Oversubscribed\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/businesswire\/agfunder-closes-21-million-alternative-protein-fund-oversubscribed\/#more-55471\" aria-label=\"Read more about AgFunder Closes $21 Million Alternative Protein Fund Oversubscribed\">more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":55477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-businesswire","infinite-scroll-item"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512.jpg",1024,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512-150x75.jpg",150,75,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512-300x150.jpg",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512-768x384.jpg",768,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512.jpg",1024,512,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512.jpg",1024,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512.jpg",1024,512,false],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/agfunder_logo_512x512.jpg",1024,512,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bethany Chester","author_link":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/author\/bethany\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"AgFunder, one of the world\u2019s most active foodtech and agtech investors, announces the final close of its alternative protein fund: New Carnivore A range of corporate, institutional, and high net worth investors participated in the raise, including Archer-Daniels-Midland and Alexandria Venture Investments Along with the close, AgFunder announces New Carnivore\u2019s first seven investments in early-stage&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.vegconom.de\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}