By Autumn Demberger, Global AgInvesting Media

Global agrifoodtech funding hit $16.2 billion in 2025, almost flat versus the prior year (-3%) but with a notable shift in where the money went. That’s the main takeaway from AgFunder’s recently released report, the “Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2026,” published on March 18 of this year.

The report noted that investors seem to be increasingly selective in where they’re putting their dollars and cents, directing capital towards companies with tangible science, real unit economics and clear paths to revenue. 

Another overall finding: Food delivery and eGrocery platforms seem to be on a decline, with the largest “mega-deal” in this space in 2025 coming in 80% smaller than the sector’s peak in 2021. “Agrifoodtech’s largest deals have typically gone to downstream startups, with the uptick of deals over $100 million in 2020 and 2021 almost entirely attributed to food delivery startups during the Covid-19 era,” read the report.

Some Quick Numbers

• While overall funding remained flat at approximately $16.2 billion, there was a notable 7% year-over-year increase in funding for Upstream startups (totaling $9 billion)
• For the first time in a decade, debt financing reached its highest share of total agrifood funding at 18.2%
• Despite a 12% drop in total deal count, 46% of deals went to first-time-funded companies
• Despite a decline in investment totals, Midstream garnered the most deals of any category, with 240. Seed-stage deals made up the majority of investments

Capital Is Moving “Upstream”

According to the report, it looks like the era of $3 billion mega-rounds for grocery delivery apps is at its end. These tech-based services surged in the post Covid-era, likely due in part for their need during a time of mass closures and shelter-in-place mandates. But as the report also noted, the largest deals in 2025 were 35% smaller than 2021’s top-tier rounds.

To put that into perspective, 2025’s largest deal was Wonder’s $600 million Series D round, which, as AFN says, “in 2021, it would have been a footnote.”

It’s where the funding went that becomes most interesting. Debt financing hit its highest share in a decade, at 18.2% of total agridoos funding. Several companies raised through debt and late-stage instruments instead of traditional venture equity. Of note, says the report, were Chestnut Carbon, raising $370 million across two rounds; Cambrian Innovation, at $150 million; and Samaunnati, with $267 million. 

“This could be read as a sign of distress, but it’s also a sign that some agrifoodtech companies now have revenue profiles that debt investors can underwrite,” the report notes.

Further, and already noted, 46% of 2025’s deals went to first-time-funded companies.

Regional Hotspots and National Shifts

The report noted that the list of top-funded countries in 2025 is similar to what was seen in 2024. Some of the highlights included:

The Big Three: The U.S. remained the leader (though investment fell 8%), followed by India and China.

Surging Markets: The Netherlands saw a massive YoY 44% increase in investment, and South Korea surged 171%, driven by a national strategy that views AI as a necessity for agricultural survival.

European Influence: Europe accounted for 60% of Novel Farming Systems’ developed market funding, with a large Finnish aquaculture deal accounting for nearly half of that.

Deeptech Premium

This year, AgFunder included a dedicated analysis of deeptech activity within agrifoodtech investment—something that is growing in popularity across all types of businesses and sectors. It is this idea of investing in companies and innovations founded on groundbreaking scientific research, or “hard science.” The goal of deeptech is to solve complex, fundamental issues using tangible innovation areas like AI, biotechnology and materiel science. It’s no wonder, than, that it seems to have had a favorable year in the agrifoodtech space.

For this space, AgFunder looked at companies that had a core competitive advantage rooted in scientific or engineering innovation.

The report noted, “while modest, investment in upstream agrifoodtech startups increased in 2025. Upstream startups—those operating on the farm or in food production— account for the vast majority of deeptech dealflow (88%), with Ag Biotech (97% by deal count), Farm Robotics (62%), Novel Farming Systems (46%), and Bioenergy and Biomaterials (45%) leading the pack.”

It also noted that deeptech agrifood startups seem to be raising larger rounds at the earlier stages, but taper off from Series B onwards.

In terms of some of the trends in this space, AgFunder called out three. Gene-editing seems to be an area of interest, with the report noting gene-edited crop traits are starting to reach commercialization. Precision fermentation economics are another deeptech area that saw improvement. And further, satellite and sensor fusion have hit a spot where field-level intelligence is no longer theoretical, but tangible.

“Deeptech’s share of agrifood funding has fluctuated between 21% and 32% over the past decade, and similarly, its share of deals has climbed steadily from 22% to 32%,” the report said.

Conclusion

The report suggests that the sector has entered a “market rationalization” phase. For established agribusinesses, this is an opportune time to look for partnerships or acquisitions among startups that have survived the “funding winter,” as these remaining players typically have more resilient business models and scientifically validated technologies.

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