Fundraising

Former PSP, CVC and EQT exec Przemek Obloj says the deal and investor pipelines surrounding alternative proteins are the most global he has ever seen.

The firm’s early stage and agtech investments vehicle’s commitment to The Kingfish Company gives it exposure to a business embarking on a US expansion project in 2021.

VC investment into agtech has grown 75% since 2014 and looks keen to keep growing as the sector offers opportunities across types of investors.

Co-founder Eric Archambeau says high-level discussions around the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy framed a fundraising effort that accelerated after covid-19’s initial spread.

Equilibrium chief executive Dave Chen says production methods that are ‘asset intensive, not land intensive’ will rewrite ‘the face of agriculture and what it means to scale.’

The land-based salmon farmer listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in May while private placements have succeeded in attracting ‘long-only institutions’, says interim CFO Karl Øystein Øyehaug.

The firm secured a 27.4% IRR when it exited its €15m timberland fund in December 2019 and is now targeting a €100m vehicle with a €200m hard-cap.

Co-founder Gabe Santos says he hopes the fact many institutions 'don’t even have an allocation yet for farmland' means there is space for growing interest to turn into capital commitments. and Dan Little describe how farmland’s evolving investor base helps shape the firm’s fundraising and portfolio strategies.

Founder Paul Lightfoot says a wider investor base is being attracted to indoor farming, with no players in the space 'close to tapping out any of the major markets' as infrastructure funds lie in wait.

Rabobank's Anne Greven says a community of investors including ADM, Pepsi and Germin8 Ventures has developed around FoodBytes, the bank's startup discovery platform.