1、A G R I C U L T U R ECVC INSIGHTS REPORT2 0 2 1When AgFunder and gener8tor set out to compile this report,it was set against a backdrop of furious deal activity in the agrifoodtech sector and an ongoing global pandemic.The trend was counter-intuitive by all counts.Globally,many venture capital firms

2、 hit pause on dealmaking in April as rolling lockdowns shut borders and crippled markets.Startups and venture capital investors went into survival mode.But then they caught their breath and began to pivot.By mid-year,investors were cutting checks again.The final tally of agrifoodtech investment doll

3、ars committed in 2020 is expected to outpace 2019 by 34.5%,according to AgFunders 2021 AgriFoodTech Investment Report.Remarkably,capital rushed into“upstream”innovationsthose closest to the farm,and often the most capital,time and resource-intensive.Robotics.Remote sensing.Biotechnology.Alternative

4、proteins and other novel foods;investors were signaling their commitment to the long-term future of food rather than just the next software unicorn.Few have more to gain from this mindset than agrifood corporations.Amid shifting consumer preferences and labor trends,regulatory pressure over agrichem

5、ical use,and an overall global push to make the food system greener and more sustainable,agrifood corporations are betting on new innovations to help them align their businesses for long-term trends and profitability.This report takes an up-close look at six major agrifood companies corporate ventur

6、e investing activities.The biggest players,Syngenta Ventures and Leaps by Bayer,share insights of their priorities amid the recent market consolidation of agrichemical competitors and peers.Cargill provides a deep dive on investments addressing animal health and nutrition as the company restructures

7、 its venture investing unit.ADM Ventures and newly-launched FMC Ventures discuss kicking their investment activity into high-gear in 2020.And BASF Venture Capital highlights the urgency of catalyzing change in the agrichemicals industry.Collectively,the interviews and data presented in this report r

8、eveal that while agrifood corporates may have historically been slow to recognize and embrace change,their venture teams are fully aligned and invested in where the future of food and agriculture is going.INTROJoe Kirgues and Troy Vosseller-Co-Founders of gener8torLouisa Burwood Taylor-Head of Media

9、&Research of AgFunderGROUP DATA:CVC INVESTMENTSBy YearBy Funding StageInvestments by CategoriesInvestments by CompanyADM VENTURESPortfolio SnapshotInterview with Victoria de la Huerga BASF VENTURE CAPITALPortfolio SnapshotInterview with Markus SolibiedaCARGILLPortfolio SnapshotInterview with SriRaj

10、KantamneniFMC VENTURESPortfolio SnapshotInterview with Amar SinghLEAPS BY BAYERPortfolio SnapshotInterview with Derek NormanSYNGENTA VENTURESPortfolio SnapshotInterview with Shubang SankarCVC SNAPSHOT OVER THE YEARSTop 10 AgTech CVC InvestorsTop 5 InvestmentsCapital Invested&Deal CountCapital Invest

11、ed by Stage 4 5 67891112 141517182022242628282929TABLE OF CONTENTS4In spite of the difficulties of 2020,it was a busy year for agrifoodtech investing and corporate venture capital in the sector followed that trend.If anything,the CVCs in our sample were slower to cut new checks in 2019 than the indu

12、stry at large.The data presented on pages 4-7 provides an overview of investment activity for the six agriculture CVCs we profile in depth in this report.Within this sample,there were a total of 92 investments made in 66 companies between 2015-2020.The chart to the right.There were a total of 92 inv

13、estments made in66 companies by the six CVCs in our datasetbetween 2015-2020.*FMC launched its venture arm in 2020,and came out of the gate making four investments since June.ADM Ventures also ramped up its investment activity.*The number of investments between 2015-2020 does not necessarily corresp

14、ond with the number of companies in each CVCs portfolio.Some have made investments pre-2015 that are still in their portfolios.Others have since exited companies made between 2015-2020.*Five of the 92 deals are not included in the tables because the year the investment was made could not be clarifie

15、d in time for publication.One of the five investments is by ADM Ventures and the other four are by Syngenta Ventures.*ADM made two investment in Agrible,in 2016 and 2017.These investments preceded the founding of ADM Ventures,but have been included in our dataset.ADM has since exited Agribible.*Baye

16、r acquired Monsanto in 2018,including its entire CVC portfolio.Pre-2018 data for Leaps by Bayer includes Monsantos and Bayers agrifoodtech venture investments.GROUP DATA:NUMBER OF AGTECH CVC INVESTMENTS,BY YEAR*132015760000820161002141520180203372120203245161720175820114122019063012As with the agrif

17、oodtech investing industry at large,CVCs dialed up activity in 2020.The year,otherwise known for a global pandemic,was the most active year for CVCs in our sample.5CVCs are identifying unique investment opportunities and working to make those grow with follow-on capital.There are a number of example

18、s of follow-on funding,primarily from Leaps by Bayer (CoverCress,Newleaf Symbiotics)and Syngenta(Greenlight Biosciences,Sound Agriculture),which have been the most active CVCs since 2015.There are also a few co-investments between Leaps by Bayer and Syngenta Ventures(AgBiome,Blue River Technologies,

19、Boragen).Companies that raised multiple rounds of funding include:GROUP DATA:NUMBER OF AGTECH CVC INVESTMENTS BY FUNDING STAGESeed10 InvestmentsSeries B22 InvestmentsSeries D or Later11 InvestmentsSeries A22 InvestmentsSeries C11 InvestmentsUnknown16 Investments17.6%10.9%23.9%23.9%12.1%12.1%56VENTUR

20、EBACKEDINVESTMENTROUNDS COMPLETED*Investments in the Ag Biotech category dominate CVC investment activity.That should be no surprise,given that the companies profiled in this series encompass some of the largest agri-chemicals companies in the world.Logically,this category includes the largest numbe

21、r of follow-on funding rounds among the companies in the samplemeaning theyre often doubling down on their Ag Biotech bets.Agbiotech investing among CVC far exceeds the average across all agrifoodtech investment firms,counting for 47.3%of investment rounds among the CVCs we profiled versus just 6%in

22、dustry-wide.GROUP DATA:NUMBER OF COMPANIES BACKED AND INVESTMENTS MADE,BY CATEGORY*There are more rounds than companies because some companies raised multiple funding rounds over the period of 2015-2020.2843142268565533331111Ag BiotechRobotics&Mech.Farm EquipmentBioenergy&Bio-MaterialsFarm Mgmt.Soft

23、ware,Sensing&IoTAgribusiness MarketplacesMidstreamInnovative FoodMiscellaneousNovel Farming7There are a few standout data points:BASF Venture Capital is the only company investing in the bio-energy and bio-materials sector,backing companies like Lactips,which is using waste from the dairy sector as

24、a packaging alternative.Interestingly,BASF Ventures does not count these as part of its agrifood portfolio internally.GROUP DATA:NUMBER OF INVESTMENTS MADE ACROSS EACH CATEGORY,BY COMPANY*There are more rounds than companies because some companies raised multiple funding rounds over the period of 20

25、15-2020.Cargill is the biggest investor in the Innovative Food category from this group,backing three alternative protein companies:Aleph Farms,Puris and Memphis Meats.It also re-upped its investment in Puris.31632251843ADM VENTURESFMCCARGILLSYNGENTA GROUPBASF VENTURE CAPITALLEAPS BY BAYERAg BioTech

26、Innovative FoodRobotics&Mech.Farm EquipmentAgribusiness MartketplacesMisellaneousBioenergy&Bio-MaterialsMidstreamNovel FarmingFarm Mgmt.Software Sensing&IoT8ADM Ventures in its current form began making investments in 2018.It has five companies in its portfolio,spread across a number of different ag

27、rifood tech sectors.ADM Ventures has not disclosed how much capital it has invested.Archer Daniels Midlands had other investments in its portfolio prior to launching the current iteration of its venturing arm.Also included in our group data set:ADMs 2016 and 2017 investments in Agrible,a U.S.-based

28、farm management software,which ADM has since exited after Nutrien bought the platform in 2018.Nature FYND$117.5M2012 Chicago,IL Biotechnology firm intended to convert waste feed stock to valuable commercial products*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchbook.Geltor$117.5M2015 San Leandro,CA

29、Biodesign company intended to offer a selection of designer proteins with biocompatibility,functionality,and other benefits.Aquinovo$1.5M2015 Rehovot,IsraelOperator of materials solution designed to accelerate fish growth.ADM VENTURESPORTFOLIO SNAPSHOTCOMPANYLOCATIONTECH CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMENTAi

30、r ProteinUSInnovative Food2020 AquiNovo Israel Novel Farming 2020GeltorUSAg Biotechnology2020Natures FyndUSInnovative Food2020Perfect Day FoodsIrelandInnovative Food2019PitPatUKFarm Mgmt.Software,Sensing&IoT-9Share a bit about ADM Ventures approach to corporate venturing.Victoria de la Huerga:We hav

31、e a hybrid model that we use within our corporate venture capital team.We certainly do the more traditional side of venturing,which is looking outside of our four walls to interesting startup companies that are solving real problems in the world.We also incubate ideas within ADMthose could be new pr

32、oduct development initiatives,new business models,or new business opportunities for ADM.And we also invest in funds as limited partners.Our focus is on human and animal nutrition and sustainable materials.When we invest in startups,we typically like to come in as a minority investor at the Series A

33、level.We invest quite a bit earlier than a lot of others.For your direct investments,does ADM Ventures aim to also be strategic partners,or just financial backers?Usually startups are coming to us for more than just the money.There are a lot of venture capital firms and family offices that are more

34、than willing to invest money.With us,theyre interested in our expertise too.Or pilot equipment.Or commercial reach.Or manufacturing assets.So we think about how do we help de-risk what theyre doing,and are there competencies that make this a good partnership at the end of the day?While we invest dir

35、ectly,we also play matchmaker with our commercial teams across ADM,identifying partnership opportunities.Those may or may not include a capital investment.For example,there could be a unique opportunity for our commercial team to provide ingredients to a startup in the more traditional business-to-b

36、usiness manner.You have a unique perspective on AGTECH CVC:ADM VENTURES ADM Ventures on the many ways corporations can invest in innovatorsVictoria de la HuergaFormer Vice PresidentADM VenturesArcher-Daniels-Midland(ADM)launched its venture investing group in 2016.ADM Ventures Victoria de la Huerga,

37、prior to her moving over to ADMs Nutrition business unit as President of Sweet&Dairy,discussed the groups investment priorities and how the four-year-old corporate venture group is building capacity for the next generation of agrifood technologies.ADM Ventures is now helmed by Ian Pinner,Chief Strat

38、egy and Innovation Officer at ADM.Victoria de la Huerga|Former Vice President|ADM Ventures10corporate venture capital because you were part of a private company,WILD Flavors,that was acquired by ADM.What have you learned from that experience,and how has that has shaped your approach at ADM Ventures?

39、Many corporate venture groups lever somebody that works for the company to lead their group,because there is understanding about the company and they likely have a good network within the company already.Theres also an advantage of balancing that by bringing people in from the outside as well.This i

40、s a very relationship-oriented ecosystem,and you need people with good external networks.Do you have an example or two in mind of companies youve invested in?When we formed ADM Ventures,one of the first areas that we looked into was alternative proteins.We arent as focused on plant-based because ADM

41、 has a whole group of people that focused on that.Were focused on whats coming after plantscompanies that are leveraging fermentation to create alternatives to animal-derived proteins.Insects as a protein source.Algae,though that has been out there for a while.We made some very early investments in

42、the space,each one using a slightly different methodology and addressing a different need in the world.One of them is Perfect Day,which is creating dairy-derived proteins without animals.We also invested in Geltor,which is making animal-free collagen and gelatin products.And the third one is Natures

43、 Fynd.They are leveraging fungal sources to create a high-quality protein and fiber products.Our more recent investments include Air Protein and Future Meat Technologies.How are you working with these companies as a strategic investor?Well,all of these companies are using a form of fermentation to g

44、et to their end results,and ADM has been leveraging fermentation to create products for years,so we know a thing or two about fermentation.Weve got very deep technical understanding,and weve also got pilot assets and large-scale assets that these companies dont.So,there is an opportunity to help the

45、m get to market in a low-capex way.The agrifood industry has this reputation for being slow to develop and adopt new technology.How do you see corporate venture funds playing a role in shifting that narrative?When you compare the ag industry to,say,the tech industry,the ag industry has to do a lot o

46、f things to catch up.But what weve seen is,theres been so much more advancement in agriculture in the last five years than in the last 50 years.If youre a company leveraging CRISPR to improve crop yields or resistance to pesticides,you dont get results overnight.You try one field plot,then you have

47、to wait a year to do more testing,then you wait again to test in larger field plots to make sure that whatever developing really works.And then,you have to find a whole chain of people in the value stream to enable it to work.It takes time.On the corporate venture side,you need to bring on people wh

48、o are naturally curious about possibility.This is how you change the paradigm that exists.Victoria de la Huerga|Former Vice President|ADM Ventures1 1BASF Venture Capital launched in 2001 and has made 12.7 million in direct investments in agrifood companies.Five of its ag-investments have been made s

49、ince 2015.Three othersAdvanced BioNutrition Corp.,Allyix and Arcadia Bioscienceswere made before 2015(they are not included in the group data.)Two other BASF Venture deals,Lactips and P2 Science,are related to the agrifood sector and have been added to this dataset.*BASF Venture capital has also inv

50、ested in three agrifood funds:SP Ventures,which focuses on Latin America;Omnivore,which focuses on India;and Alchemist.PROVIVI$212.2M2013 Santa Monica,CADeveloper of agricultural pest control formulations designed to protect food supplies without toxic residues.Equinom$18.3M2012 Kibbutz,IsraelSeed b

51、reeding technology designed to breed future foods and bringing sustainable development to the food industry.Hummingbird Technologies$14.7M2016 London,United KingdomData analytics platform designed to aid in cropping and farming decision-making.BASF VENTURE CAPITALPORTFOLIO SNAPSHOTCOMPANYLOCATIONTEC

52、H CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMENT EcoRobotix China Robotics&Mech.Farm Equipment 2018EQUInomIsraelAg Biotechnology2019Hummingbird TechnologiesUKFarm Mgmt.Software,Sensing&IoT2019ProviviUSAg Biotechnology2017,2019SmartAHCChinaFarm Mgmt.Software,Sensing&IoT2020Lactips*FranceBioenergy&Bio-Materials2018P2 Sci

53、ence*USBioenergy&Bio-Materials2017*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchbook.12What is the mission and scope of BASF Venture Capital?Markus Solibieda:We have a mission statement,that is“catalyzing change for BASF and the chemicals industry.”We are not a pure digital farming or agtech inves

54、tor;we venture across all areas of interest for BASF including crop protection,base chemicals,intermediates,specialty chemicals,and so on.But agriculture is an important part of our mission,because we are convinced that the agricultural space is where the use and application of chemicals will change

55、 most in the next five years.We are a typical Series A investor,with a team of 13 colleagues investing an evergreen fund of$250 million.We invest in tickets of$1 million to$5 million.Can you give us a snapshot of whats in BASFs agri-focused venture portfolio?The most recent investment we made is in

56、an Israeli company called Equinom.They have built a bioinformatics platform to generate new and non-GMO characteristics of plants.For example,they have helped develop for the French producer Roquette a new white pea breed that has a very high protein content.Swiss company Ecorobotix has developed a

57、robot to selectively spray crops,like onions or sugar beets.Spraying herbicides or insecticides on the whole field is still the standard in crop protection.Ecorobotix has developed a solar-powered robot on four wheels whose cameras can detect and distinguish specific value crops from herbicides,deci

58、ding where to spray and where not to.That opens the door to using less and more sustainable crop protection products.And then theres Provivi,which has developed a new class of pheromones.Provivi wants to bring pheromones to row crops like Markus SolibiedaManaging DirectorBASF VenturesLike its peers(

59、and competitors)Bayer and Syngenta,German chemicals giant BASF knows that business as usual in the agrifood sector isnt going to cut it.BASF has been turning its vast Agricultural Solutions division toward new techniques and business models for delivering services like crop protection.BASF Venture C

60、apitals Markus Solibieda discusses the groups evolving strategy and global perspective from its teams around the world.AGTECH CVC:BASF VENTURE CAPITAL BASF Venture Capital on catalyzingchange for the chemicals industryMarkus Solibieda|Managing Director|BASF Venture Capital13corn and use pheromones i

61、n larger fields.One of the founders,professor Frances Arnold,won the Nobel Prize for her research.BASFs CVC investment strategy has focused both on direct investments and investments in agrifoodtech funds,like Omnivore in India and SP Ventures in Brazil.Why take both approaches?If you want to gain q

62、uick access to deal flow,if you want to build your presence and create an overview of whats happening out there,being an investor in another venture capital fund can really help in an accelerated way.Why invest in chemicals reduction when BASF has traditionally been one of the biggest sellers of agr

63、i-chemicals?As a corporate venture unit,we are not executing on existing BASF strategies;we try to inspire our existing business units on new trends,new technologies,new business models.We are the risk-takers.So we are the ones who test these new business models,and if we fail,its our fault.But if w

64、e are successful,we convince our business units to build these new business models.We try to be a source of inspiration for BASF,which today,of course,still has a business model based on volumes.But we are confident that with the help of phenomenal startups,we can test certain theses and understand

65、new market mechanics better.Thats why we are doing these kinds of investments:to try to build intelligence for our group and feed into the future strategy of BASF.Theres a high level of interest from the business units to work with us and to generate these learnings.Hypothetically speaking,if a new

66、startup pitched you today,what problem would they ideally be trying to solve?We are in a period where consumers are much more sensitive to where their products come from.Is it organic?Has it been sprayed with a conventional insecticide?There will also be additional regulatory challengesor put in a p

67、ositive way,improvementsto the agri-chemicals industry.It would be useful to have a startup that is able to help crop protection companies clients the farmers,for example with verification to prove how crops have been grown:that this is organic,or that has been grown with fewer herbicides.I dont kno

68、w if it will be a blockchain solution or another digital solution,but a solution to make the agricultural industry value chain transparent would be highly interesting.Are there any big changes on the horizon for BASFs corporate venture group over the next two years or so?These last four years are al

69、ready quite different compared to 2001 to 2016.We have really changed the mandate and the geographies where we are present.We are no longer just a technology scout for BASF.In the future,I would like to see that all business units of BASF feel encouraged to engage even more with startups to the poin

70、t that,one day,we are no longer needed as a facilitator of these relationships.Here we are already making a lot of progress,and we will continue to push,to inspire,and to catalyze change.Markus Solibieda|Managing Director|BASF Venture Capital14Cargill stands out among the CVC group profiled,as it do

71、es not have a dedicated venture capital arm;all of its venture investments are made by its four separate business units,and governed by a central corporate team.This makes Cargills activity unique,but also difficult to track.It is possible that some investment data is missing from this dataset.Cargi

72、ll has been active in the Innovative Food category,backing three alternative protein companies:cellular ag groups Aleph Farms and Memphis Meats,and pea protein supplier Puris.It will be an interesting space to watch over the next 12-18 months as cultivated meat products ready their market debuts aft

73、er a decade or more of R&D.Memphis Meats$208.2M 2015 San Leandro,CAProducer and seller of real meat products intended to bring delicious and healthy meat to the table by harvesting it from cells,instead of animals.Aleph Farms$14.5M2017 Rehovot,IsraelProducer of clean meat products intended to provid

74、e authentic meat in a sustainable and cruelty-free way.Cainthus2015 Dublin,IrelandSoftware monitors the health and well-being of crops and livestock,providing the information to make better decisions,solving problems before they occur by using predictive imaging analysis.CARGILLPORTFOLIO SNAPSHOTCOM

75、PANYLOCATIONTECH CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMENTAleph FarmsIsraelInnovative Food2019CainthusIrelandFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2018Calysta EnergyUSAg Biotechnology2016,2017Memphis MeatsUSInnovative Food2020Puris ProteinsUSInnovative Food2018,2019*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchboo

76、k.15Talk us through how you think about opportunities in agrifood technology?SriRaj Kantamneni:We start with identifying the unique jobs to be done or problems to solve,then look at the landscape of companies that are addressing those challenges.Cargills mission is to be the global leader in nourish

77、ing people,and we want to do that in a safe,responsible,and sustainable way.With that in mind,we ask ourselves:what are the big industry trends that could accelerate this mission?Digitization is one,and thats where I spend my time.Theres really two parts to digital:productivityhow do you improve wha

78、ts happening on the farmand tracking and tracing whether youre getting the outcomes you want from a nutrition and formulation standpoint.With farm management practices,its about how the digital solutions and investments were making improve those practices,because ultimately those improvements lead t

79、o greater sustainability,efficiency,and efficacy.On the nutrition side,the extent that we can measure and monitor helps us start to address sustainability and consumer preferences.Share a bit about some the startup investments and partnerships the AHN group has pursued.We invested in Cainthus,which

80、is bringing computer vision to the dairy industry.When we invested there were specific challenges in dairies that we wanted to solve.One was expanding the understanding of whats happening with each individual animal or in each pen to the entire operation.There is obvious research that indicates that

81、 the more a cow is ruminating the better milk productivity she has.Knowing when feed is gone in front of a particular pen,for instance,and triggering alerts for the farm manager is beneficial to this process.AGTECH CVC:CARGILL Agrifood industrys reluctant digital shiftSriRaj KantamneniManaging Direc

82、tor of Digital InsightsCargillUS agrifood giant Cargill isnt new to the corporate venture capital game.But its style is unlike most of its peers.The Minnesota-based company leans into the expertise and experience of the teams running its four business lines to make external investment and partnershi

83、p decisions.SriRaj Kantamneni,managing director of digital insights in Cargills Animal Nutrition&Health(ANH)group,discusses his groups investment activities as one part of Cargills venture investing.SriRaj Kantamneni|Managing Director of Digital Insights|Cargill16There are now so many productivity t

84、ools out there.How do you help the entrepreneurs you are supporting think about scaling their tools and integrating them with others?One of the areas we are acutely aware of is the role that Cargill plays in helping bring technology capabilities together.If you think about an ecosystem,many of these

85、 startups wont be able to do that on a standalone basis.But we can help facilitate that.Weve got industry knowledge and we have a massive distribution channel and network to help startups scale.For most technologies,we find that its better to get involved once the technology itself is somewhat prove

86、n and then helping the startup refine what it does to scale in the key markets where that technology could have an impact.Has this strategy grown as the agrifood startup ecosystem has grown in recent years?Cargill is a 155-year-old company.To be relevant,you evolve with whats happening in the market

87、.Cargill was at one time in shipbuildingmost people wouldnt know that.We really started doing early-stage agricultural technology investments in earnest,four or five years ago.Before that,we were a company that waited for something to scale and then we acquired it.For early-stage investments,were fi

88、nding that its working.Its bringing some interesting things into the house of ANH.Covid-19 has only accelerated that.If you look at history,every large economic disruption germinates innovation.Can you share some of the innovation youve seen emerge from the pandemics impacts?Our Cargill Protein&Salt

89、 and Food Ingredients&Bio-industrial colleagues cover food service,retail and e-commerce.Retail has transformed dramatically over the last eight months,with the emergence of click and collect;food service though,has been decimated,and we are working with our customers to support them through this di

90、fficult time.Those realities have forced us to think about things differently.Food security is another example.The resilience of food supply-chains is pretty remarkable.While there were some scares early on in the pandemic,there werent any major disruptions that created panic.But labor challenges on

91、 the farm or in processing facilities are heightened.Leveraging technology to alleviate labor challenges has only accelerated.Why,in such an essential industry,is the uptake of tools that improve the efficiency and resilience of supply chains so slow?The essential aspect of food makes the industry l

92、ess volatile than other industries.For that reason,I think both producers and the industry are slow to disrupt too many things.I do think were going to see some tremendous change over the next three to five years.Were cognizant that in a big company like Cargill,there are startups out there that we

93、dont know about that are waking up every day thinking about this.Sometimes having disruption forced upon the industry is a good thing.SriRaj Kantamneni|Managing Director of Digital Insights|Cargill17FMC Ventures launched in 2020 as FMCs new venture capital investment arm.The group invests from the c

94、ompanys balance sheet,and like other CVCs in the space,takes a long-term investment view.It closed four deals in 2020.MC Ventures portfolio is,so far,quite concentrated in the Ag Biotech sector.It is interested in identifying new”modes of action”to improve crop treatments and plant health.Trace Geno

95、mics is mapping the nutritional and microbial contents of soil.Cyclica is a drug discovery platform investigating molecules.Zymergen is a machine-learning and AI-based biotech startup.Also in the portfolio:aerial surveillance venture Kiwi Technologies.Zymergen$1.0B2013 Emeryville,CAMolecular technol

96、ogy intended to discover and deliver novel products and materials.Trace Gnomics$58.9M2015 Burlingame,CADeveloper of an analytics engine that learns as it maps the living soil designed to help agricultural industry professionals including agronomists and growers maximize the value of every acre.Kiwi

97、Technologies$6.0M2017 Malden,MADeveloper of an unmanned aerial vehicle paired with a custom-designed ground support platform designed to deliver the standard volumes of chemicals and seeds that are needed by commercial farms.FMC VENTURESPORTFOLIO SNAPSHOTCOMPANYLOCATIONTECH CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMEN

98、T Kiwi Technologies US Farm Management Software,Sensing&IoT 2020Trace GenomicsUSAg Biotechnology2020CyclicaCanadaAg Biotechnology2020ZymergenUSAg Biotechnology2020*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchbook.18FMC Ventures only began investing last year.Give us the high-level overview of the

99、 team,fund and what youre looking for.Amar Singh:Our mission is to opportunistically back emerging technologies that can create strategic advantages for FMC.FMC today is very different than it was four years ago.Leadership has tasked the ventures group with focusing on emerging technologies that cou

100、ld radically augment or alter how agri-science products are developed,sold and applied.We are inquiring about different and sustainable ways to nourish and protect crops and evaluating technologies with a very open mind.We are also closely evaluating emerging business models that could alter how pro

101、ducts are purchased and applied,and by extension,how and where value is captured in the value chain.It takes a multidisciplinary approach to attack these problems.The best opportunities today are at the intersection of several different domains,such as molecular biology,computational chemistry,machi

102、ne learning,and robotics.A lot of new startups are trying to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture.Do you see the use of chemicals coming to an end soon?I may be a minority opinion among my investing friends,but I think coming to an end is unrealistic for the foreseeable future.Almost

103、 everyone raising crops today could tell you that,so I wouldnt paint with a broad brush.There are excellent synthetic products with unmatched control and sustainable environmental profiles.But what gets attention and rightfully soare the ones with severe negative consequences.Now,looking forward,we

104、think there will be a good mix of both synthetic and non-synthetic AGTECH CVC:FMC VENTURESFMC Ventures on launching a corporate venture group in 2020Amar SinghManaging DirectorFMC VenturesPhiladelphia-based FMC Corporation has been in the agri-chemicals game for nearly 140 years.It has been in the v

105、enture investing business for less than one.FMC Ventures Amar Singh discusses the advantages and challenges of being the newcomer in agrifood corporate venture investing,and how FMCs laser-focus on crop protection technologies gives the company an edge in a still under-invested space.Amar Singh|Mana

106、ging Director|FMC Ventures19products.Technologies that help us do more with less,whether thats on the formulation side to reduce the amount of active ingredient or using robotics for precision application.We will see more judicious use of certain products.For bio-pesticides,there are different modal

107、ities,and the question is:can they be scaled?Can they provide similar,if not identical,levels of control?What is driving the shift to replace or reduce the use of synthetic chemicals?One of the key drivers is that consumers are voting with their dollars and it is causing a ripple effect throughout t

108、he value chain.Grocers,aggregators,processors,mid-stream actors,producers,and crop-input companies are reacting to seize the opportunities emerging from these changing preferences.Theres the natural evolution of technology as well,as you say.Tell us about the companies youve invested in and how they

109、re supporting FMC Ventures mission.We have made four investments so far;two have been publicly announced.We also have seven or eight in the pipeline under review.The two unannounced ones are in pheromone space and pathogen detection space.Our first investment,in June,was Trace Genomics.Trace is a so

110、il bio-informatics company that uses shotgun sequencing and machine learning to decode the microbial diversity of soil.We think soil biology as a category is under-studied.This is largely because the tools required to analyze and understand soils complex biology were until now unavailable or very ex

111、pensive.What Trace did,by marrying sequencing with advanced computing,is make it possible to explain the complexity and diversity of all these microorganisms living in soil.The second is Kiwi Technologies,which is building an unmanned aerial sprayer here in the US.Today,aerial spraying in the US is

112、an unscalable and highly fragmented business fraught with tactical and safety issues.Kiwis breakthrough is that they redesigned the spraying vehicle from the ground up,to drive down material costs and to regulate the quantum of spray.The agtech venture capital space has evolved a lot in the past few

113、 years.What are the advantages and challenges to launching a corporate venture investing group today?I think the jury is still out on many of the early bets,especially in certain sub-sectors.We do get the benefit of learning from others,i.e.what worked and what didnt,so I think there are advantages

114、in being patient.With respect to challenges,established companies are relatively slower than a startup,its like maneuvering a ship versus a speed boat.We are less than a year in and have a game-plan,the leadership team is energized,and weve placed a few strategic bets and more to come.Lastly,if we l

115、ook at the breakthroughs in molecular biology,robotics,computational chemistry,and novel ways of linking demand to supply,I think the best opportunities are ahead of us.Amar Singh|Managing Director|FMC Ventures20Bayer acquired agri-chemicals rival Monsanto in 2018,and with the acquisition,absorbed M

116、onsantos venture portfolio.Now called Leaps by Bayer,the group has invested roughly$200 million in agrifood ventures since 2015.Leaps has also re-invested in two Monsanto investments:CoverCress,Newleaf.Ag Biotech dominates Leaps portfolio,including one of its latest editions:Unfold,a biotech venture

117、 focusing on seed varietals for indoor farming.Leaps co-launched the venture in 2020 with Singapore-based Temasek,and invested$30 million.Leaps also has one of the most geographically diverse portfolio of the CVCs profiled in this report,including two investments in Latin America and the only Africa

118、-based venture in the group,Apollo Agriculture.Atomwise$174.3M2012 San Francisco,CAArtificial intelligence-based biotechnology company intended to help invent new potential medicines for disease targets.Gro Direto$47.7M2016 Uberaba MG,BrazilPlatform designed to digitize the agricultural commodity ch

119、ain and guide farmers and buyers to market in an efficient and modern way.Climate Fieldview(Formally HydroBio)$3.6M1999 Denver,CODecision support technologies intended to conserve water and maximize crop yields.LEAPS BY BAYERPORTFOLIO SNAPSHOT*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchbook.21CO

120、MPANYLOCATIONTECH CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMENT AgBiome US Ag biotechnology 2015,2018Apollo AgricultureKenyaMisc.2020AtomwiseUSAg Biotechnology2018Bioceres S.A.ArgentinaAg Biotechnology2016Blue River Technology(exited)USRobotics&Mech.Farm Equipment2015BoragenUSAg Biotechnology2017CoverCressUSAgBiotechn

121、ology2015,2017,2018,2020FarmLeadCanadaAgribusiness Marketplaces2017Gro DiretoBrazilAgribusiness Marketplaces2018HydroBio (exited)USFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2015Joyn BioUSAg Biotechnology2017Newleaf SymbioticsUSAg Biotechnology2017,2020Oerth BioUSAg Biotechnology2020Pairwise PlantsUSAg Bio

122、technology2018Pivot BioUSAg Biotechnology2016PlantResponse BiotechSpainAg Biotechnology2015,2018RantizoUSRobotics&Mech.Farm Equipment2020RessonCanadaFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2016,2018UnderstoryUSFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2016UnfoldUSAg Biotechnology2020VitalFields (exited)Estoni

123、aFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT201522What do you see as Leaps by Bayers mission as a corporate venture arm?Derek Norman:Our mission is to catalyze breakthrough innovations through a process of active incubation,and by allocating capital to create or invest in new companies.We are focused on wh

124、at we call paradigm-shifting technologies that will have a significant“impact on,and returns for,humanity.Weve always been defined as an impact investor,so our investments not only target breakthrough technologies,but also specific challenges that would have a positive impact on society and humanity

125、.We very much screen for that when were looking at investment opportunities.German agri-chemicals giant Bayer made headlines in 2018 for acquiring US rival Monsanto for a whopping$63 billion.The merger has left rival corporates and budding startups curious about what the new entitys corporate ventur

126、e activities would look like(among many other questions).Monsanto Growth Ventures already had a sizeable portfolio,which has since been folded into the umbrella of Leaps by Bayer,Bayers innovation department.Leaps head of agriculture Derek Norman discusses what to expect from Bayers venture investin

127、g ambitions.How do you define your approach to impact?There are many ways to define impact and theres no one approach that fits every investor.The way we approach impact is through what we call the 10 Leapsthese are 10 specific challenges facing humanity that we believe would have a positive impact

128、if solved.As were both a healthcare and an agricultural company,not all Leaps are related to agriculture.We have one Leap that aims to to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture.We have another to develop a sustainable protein supply.We have several that overlap with both healthcare and agric

129、ulture:driving digital business models,eradicating insect-borne infections,and curing through microbiome health.AGTECH CVC:LEAPS BY BAYER Leaps by Bayer on adopting an impact lens for corporate venturingDerek NormanVice President,Venture InvestmentsLeaps by BayerDerek Norman|Vice President,Venture I

130、nvestments|Leaps by Bayer23Why is it important to promote chemicals reduction,if Bayer is also a high-volumes seller?New technologies for crop protection are going to come whether or not we invest in them;its just a different way of doing the job of controlling weeds or pests.What we need to figure

131、out is a new business model that is able to grow these technologies at scale.These technologies could actually then be an area of future growth for Bayer.Co-founding entire companies outright,as you did in 2020 with the company Unfold,differs from many corporate VC initiatives.Why is Bayer taking th

132、is approach?Were looking at questions like,Whats the Leap?What technology is needed?Who are the potential partners?And does that require founding a new company,or is there a great company already out there that can help solve some of these challenges that we can invest in?We get very involved in the

133、 co-founding process helping to build out the management team,helping to define the brand and strategy of the company.There are a lot of Bayer in-kind resources that are given to these companies to help them get a jumpstart on developing the technology,such as Bayer expertise and know-how.Could you

134、highlight an example in your current portfolio of a company addressing a Leap?I always like to mention CoverCress.CoverCress was an investment made by the Monsanto Growth Ventures team,but it fits what were about at Leaps.Theyre converting a wild crop called pennycress into a commercial cover crop f

135、or growers in the winter.It improves soil health,and it is also a cash crop:the grains or the seed can be used as animal feed and the oils can be used for biodiesel.CoverCress is a breakthrough.Theyre taking a plant thats never been farmed and creating a completely new commercial crop that would hav

136、e a major positive environmental impact.There is so much attention being paid to agriculture and carbon credits,and cover crops like this can really help to significantly reduce net carbon emissions.If these companies make the leap to success,what happens then?At the outset of an investment,we have

137、a very straightforward strategic lens for our investments:we try to hypothetically determine whether Bayer would buy the company if its successful.Its a simple question to ask,but hard to answer,because youre asking:What will this technology actually look like versus the future strategic plan of Bay

138、er?But thats really the question were trying to answer here.Like many corporate venture investors,we see an acquisition by Bayer as the best outcome.Its a validation of the financial return on investment.But it is also the strategic return,which is that weve helped create and develop a company whose

139、 technology or products can then have a meaningful impact for Bayer,as well as that return on humanity that were looking for.Thats the ultimate goal of what we are trying to accomplish at Leaps by Bayer.Of course,if theres a buyer thats willing to pay the market price,thats also a great outcome and

140、provides the necessary financial return on investment required to manage any corporate venture group.Derek Norman|Vice President,Venture Investments|Leaps by Bayer24Launched in 2009 as agri-chemical giant Syngentas venture investing arm,Syngenta Ventures has the biggest portfolio of all the CVCs pro

141、filed in this report.It has invested in 25 companies since 2015(the scope of this research).Syngenta Ventures does not disclose how much it has invested.Two of its exits have been publicly disclosed:Blue River Technology,a 2015 investment that it exited to John Deere in 2017;and Marrone Bio Innovati

142、ons,a 2011 investment that has since gone public.Its current portfolio also includes US-based biotech venture Metabolon,which was Syngenta Ventures first direct investment,made in 2009.Ag Biotech dominates Syngenta Ventures portfolio.Syngenta Ventures has a similarly geographically diverse portfolio

143、 to Leaps by Bayer,including two investments each in Argentina and India,one in Turkey,and three in agrifood tech hub Israel.Vestaron$104.7M2005 Durham,NCDeveloper of peptide-based biopesticides intended to improve the safety,efficacy and sustainability of crop protection.Sound Agriculture$37.4M 201

144、3 Emeryville,CAProvider of hydraulic enhancement products for crops designed to improve harvest yields and water use efficiency across a variety of crops.Tarfin$6.3M2016 Istanbul,TurkeyDeveloper of a digital platform designed to provide farm inputs with competitive credit terms.SYNGENTA VENTURESPORT

145、FOLIO SNAPSHOT*Dollar amount is total raised as noted in Pitchbook.25COMPANYLOCATIONTECH CATEGORYYEAR OF INVESTMENTAgBiome US Ag Biotechnology 2015AgrimetisUSAg Biotechnology2015,2017AgrividaUSAg Biotechnology2019AgrofyArgentinaAgribusiness Marketplaces2019BiognosysSwitzerlandAg Biotechnology-BioPhe

146、roDenmark Ag biotechnology2018Blue River Technology(exited)USRobotics&Mechanization Farm Equipment2015BomillSwedenMidstream-BoragenUSAg Biotechnology2017FarmlinkIndiaAgribusiness Marketplaces2017Green-eye TechnologyIsraelRobotics&Mechanization Farm Equipment2020Greenlight BiosciencesUSAg Biotechnolo

147、gy2015,2020IllumitexUSRobotics&Mechanization Farm Equipment 2015NinjacartIndiaAgribusiness Marketplaces2018PhytechIsraelFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2015,2017,2020PlanetUSFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT-PowerPollenUSAg Biotechnology-PrecisionHawkUSFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT 201

148、8Premier Crop SystemsUSFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2017S4ArgentinaFarm Management Software,Sensing&IoT2016,2017Sound AgricultureUSAg Biotechnology2017,2019,2020StableUKMisc.2019TarfinTurkeyMisc.2020Vestaron CorporationUSAg Biotechnology2019WeedOut Ltd.IsraelAg Biotechnology2019,202026Syngent

149、a has been an early and eager mover in agtech corporate VC.How would you define your investment approach?Shubhang Shankar:Management has long been aware that going forward,a lot of innovation will come from digital technologies or technologies that sit outside our core research and development innov

150、ation engine.The idea was to use venturing as a vehicle to understand whats out there in the near and medium-term,and how can we incorporate that into our growth strategy.Syngenta Ventures has a two-pronged role.One is accessing R&D and technologies that either give us access to products that we can

151、 commercialize or make our internal operations more efficient.The otherwhich weve started doing recentlyis to make investments to support the creation of an ecosystem in key markets that can drive demand for our products.What do you see as the investment mandate of Syngenta?We see our mission as sup

152、porting promising startups that are creating the future agrifood system of the world.Our mandate is to invest in technologies,in business model innovation,in anything that makes farmers lives easier and makes farming more economically remunerative and sustainable for them.How has the culture and app

153、roach of Syngentas venturing arm been affected by ChemChinas acquisition?The ChemChina transaction has had a positive impact on Syngenta Ventures and it reinforces its importance.The Chinese market is a significant growing market with an intriguing and fast-developing startup ecosystem.Similarly,we

154、now have better insight into the Chinese market,which is of interest for many startups as they look to expand into new geographies.AGTECH CVC:SYNGENTA VENTURES ChemChinabusiness model innovation&agri-fintechSyngenta Ventures launched in 2009 as one of the earliest corporate VC initiatives dedicated

155、to agriculture.Today,the Basel-based group takes what it calls a stage agnostic approach,investing in seed rounds and late-stage equity rounds alike.Syngenta Ventures managing director Shubang Shankar discusses the venture groups views on opportunities in todays fast-changing and innovating agrifood

156、tech space.Shubhang ShankarManaging DirectorSyngenta VenturesShubhang Shankar,Managing Director,Syngenta Ventures27What are the promising tech trends in the agrifood sector that youre most excited about?Firstly,Im very excited about the prospect of agri-fintech in emerging markets and for smallholde

157、r farmers.Smallholder farmers face well-known challenges around access to credit,which hinders them from using high-quality inputs,which means they have low productivity and low incomes.This further hinders their access to credit.Smallholder farmers are thus caught in a vicious circle of under-inves

158、tment and low returns.Credit is one way of breaking that circle.I think there is a lot of potential to use technology and business model innovation to solve a really,really big global problem.It is one of the reasons why we made our recent investment in Tarfin,which is an agri-fintech lending compan

159、y with operations in Turkey.If you move lending for farmers away from the traditional model of“lend against collateral”to“lend against the ability to pay,”then it would drive significant value.The second is anything to do with robotics in agriculture.Agriculture has a well-known and intensifying cri

160、sis of labor availability,especially in segments like harvesting.I expect those challenges to continue;there will be a strong demand for robotics and further automation in farming operations.The third segment is the application of artificial intelligence(AI)and machine learning-driven techniques for

161、 the discovery and commercialization of materials.Look at Zymergen.There is this belief that you can automate a lot of the traditional trial-and-error processes that drove R&D using new AI techniques.Weve seen those models being explored very strongly in pharma,and at some point,they will trickle do

162、wn into agriculture as well.Aside from Tarfin,what other Syngenta portfolio companies stand out to you in their bid to advance the agrifood sector?A recent investment we announced is a company called Greeneye,which is developing a machine vision-enabled smart spraying kit.The aim is to enable precis

163、ion spraying of crop protection chemicals.What Greeneye is doing is developing a kit that will allow sprayers to“recognize”and spray weeds in real-time.We made this investment last year,ahead of the recent EU announcement of plans to reduce the use of chemicals on farms by up to 50%by 2030.This is t

164、he kind of technology required to achieve some of the goals like what the EU has set.I think everybody in the industry knows that we need to move away from a broadcast spraying approach and head towards more judicious use of chemicals.So Greeneye is a great example of the convergence of a political

165、regulatory trend and a technology trend.Through a business model innovation lens,Ninjacart has created supply-chain and market linkages for smallholder farmers in India.Farmers in India have structural constraints that stop them from getting direct access to markets and getting good prices for their

166、 goods.As I mentioned,this constrains their ability to reinvest in operations.What Ninjacart is doing is creating the supply chain infrastructure to connect farmers with markets and aiming to do that on a scale of 150 million smallholder farmers!Thats an immense challenge.Shubhang Shankar,Managing D

167、irector,Syngenta Ventures28CVC SNAPSHOT OVER THE YEARS(2015-2020):TOP 10 AGTECH CVC INVESTORSTOP 5 INVESTMENTS(BASED ON CAPITAL RAISED)Source:PitchBook Data,Inc.according to PitchBooks analyst-curated vertical noted as AgTech and filtered by CVC and select Strategic Acquirers.Based on AgTech investm

168、ents.SYNGENTA VENTURESCAVALLO VENTURESDESJARDINS CAPITALALEXANDRIA VENTURE INVESTMENTSQUALCOMM VENTURESCONTINENTAL GRAIN COMPANYTEKFEN VENTURES FARMERS BUSINESS NETWORK Founded:2014 Raised:$629.3M PRECISION BIOSCIENCES Founded:2006 Raised:$421.0M PLANET Founded:2010 Raised:$386.0M DNANEXUS Founded:2

169、014 Raised:$327.7M BENSON HILL Founded 2012 Raised:$302.0MLEAPS BY BAYERGVYAMAHA MOTOR VENTURESAll data displayed in the following slides is associated with the ten CVCs highlighted below:29AGTECH CVC SNAPSHOT(2015-2020):CAPITAL INVESTED&DEAL COUNT 29$803.3M$592.5M$119.5M$263.7M131523292425$923.7M30

170、$1B$750M$500M$250M152380$0M20202017Deal CountCapital Investment2018201620152019$613.6MINVESTMENTS BY STAGESeed12 Deal Count;$45.0M Capital InvestedSeries B29 Deal Count;$871.9M Capital InvestedSeries D or Later12 Deal Count;$1.1B Capital InvestedSeries A32 Deal Count;$333.0M Capital InvestedSeries C

171、14 Deal Count;$795.8M Capital Invested14.1%29.3%32.3%12.1%12.1%All data displayed in the following slides is associated with the ten CVCs highlighted in the previous page.Source:PitchBook Data,Inc.according to PitchBooks analyst-curated vertical noted as AgTech and filtered by CVC and select Strateg

172、ic Acquirers.Based on AgTech investments.30gener8tor,in partnership with The Combine and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development,will host the OnRamp Agriculture Conference bringing together the agriculture and food industries leading corporations,investors and startups.The conference highli

173、ghts innovations disrupting agriculture and the future of food,the leaders making such innovations possible and how new technologies and business models will reinvent the AgFunder is one of the worlds most active foodtech and agtech VCs.Were rethinking venture capital for the 21st century.We were bo

174、rn online,and with our publication AFN weve built a global ecosystem of 85,000+subscribers.This gives us one of the most powerful networks to help build impactful and important companies.Our research reports are our love letter to the AGRICULTURE CVC INSIGHTS REPORTONRAMPAGRICULTURECONFERENCE.COM/REPORT