TLDR:
– Despite challenging markets in 2023, venture capital (VC) investment in Canadian agribusiness remained strong.
– VC investment in agribusiness is set to set new records in 2023.
– Emmertech, a Saskatchewan-based agribusiness-oriented fund, continued to deploy capital in Canada and abroad.
– Tall Grass Ventures, a Calgary-based VC firm, also made investments in agribusiness throughout 2023.
In 2023, venture capital (VC) investment in Canadian agribusiness remained strong despite challenging markets. According to data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), VC investment in agribusiness is on track to set new records in 2023. By the end of the third quarter, VC agribusiness investment totaled $232 million across 37 deals, just 1% behind 2022 and 6% above 2021.
One notable agribusiness-oriented fund that continued to deploy capital in Canada and abroad in 2023 was Emmertech. This Saskatchewan-based fund made several investments throughout the year, including leading a $3 million seed financing round and participating in subsequent funding rounds for companies like TechBrew/4AG Robotics, SwarmFarm Robotics, Vivid Machines, Picketa Systems, Vive Crop Protection, ChrysaLabs, and Lucent Biosciences. Emmertech also entered into partnerships with C100 and Farm Credit Canada to strengthen connections between tech startups and investors.
Another VC firm, Tall Grass Ventures, based in Calgary, made investments in agribusiness in 2023. The firm participated in seed financing rounds for companies like Vivid Machines, Picketa Systems, Ground Truth Ag, and GeneNeer. Tall Grass also announced that Farm Credit Canada became one of its largest investors.
Other notable VC investments in the agribusiness sector in Western Canada in 2023 include enrichAg, a US-based fund that led a $6 million seed financing round for Vancouver-based Terramera, Croptimistic Technology Inc., which received a $9.1 million series B funding round led by Calgary-based Forage Capital Partners, and Future Fields, an Edmonton-based biotech startup that raised an additional $15.1 million in a seed extension financing round.
Overall, VC investment in agtech and agribusiness in Western Canada has remained strong in 2023, despite challenging markets. Both Emmertech and Tall Grass Ventures have played a significant role in driving investment in the sector and have made multiple investments in various agribusiness companies throughout the year.
