Sweet Protein: Pentasweet Breaks Ground on $76m Precision Fermentation Facility for Brazzein
Lithuanian biotech startup Pentasweet has broken ground on a €65 million ($76 million) precision‑fermentation facility in Vilnius that will produce commercial quantities of brazzein, a natural sweet protein up to 2,000 times sweeter than sugar. Phase I will establish core production capacity by early 2027, with Phase II expanding output and bringing total investment to the full €65 million. The plant will be Europe’s first dedicated brazzein production site, positioning Pentasweet to serve the EU market while planning a later U.S. rollout pending regulatory approval. The project is financed by founder equity and a loan from Lithuania’s National Development Bank, which also supports demo‑scale operations.
SentiaNova Emerges From Stealth to Tackle Plant Protein’s Taste Problem
Zurich startup SentiaNova has emerged from stealth with a patented process that strips off‑flavors from pulse proteins, delivering a neutral‑tasting pea protein concentrate now available for sampling and slated for commercial volumes in Q4. The technology removes compounds like flavonoids...
Soil Capital’s Latest Deal with Nestlé Highlights Regen Ag’s Role in Building a More Resilient Food System
Nestlé has signed a four‑year partnership with Soil Capital to accelerate regenerative agriculture among European farmers. The program builds on a 2023 wheat and corn pilot in France and now covers the UK and Belgium, supporting about 230 farmers across...
Funding Dip for Alt Protein Fermentation Signals Shift From Promise to Proof
Funding for alternative‑protein fermentation startups dropped from $651 million in 2024 to $357 million in 2025, a 45% decline, according to the Good Food Institute. The contraction follows high‑profile exits such as Meati, Motif Foodworks and Arkeon, which forced investors to reassess...
Guest Article: Physical AI Isn’t Replacing Farmers. It’s Critical for Keeping Them in Business
Physical AI is emerging as a lifeline for U.S. family farms, offering autonomous capabilities that augment—not replace—human workers. By retrofitting proven tractors like the Kubota M5 with Agtonomy’s AI stack, growers can oversee multiple machines, cut labor costs, and attract...
Exclusive: David Protein Scales Alt-Fat EPG Capacity, Eyes CPG Deals as CEO Targets $300m Revenues in 2026
David Protein, founded by RXBAR creator Peter Rahal, has quintupled production of its low‑calorie fat replacer EPG after acquiring Epogee. The company aims to generate more than $300 million in revenue by 2026 and is courting major CPG partners while expanding...
Patagonia & Rodale Institute to Transition an Entire California County to Regenerative Agriculture
Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective is committing $1.55 million to the Rodale Institute’s Regenerate Ventura program, targeting a county‑wide shift to regenerative agriculture in Ventura County, California. The initiative already has 10,000 acres and 57 farms in the pipeline, with roughly 40% owned...
AgriFood Signals: Nestlé & Soil Capital Regen Partnership, Unilever Buys Grüns, John Deere Lawsuit
Nestlé announced a partnership with Soil Capital to embed regenerative farming practices across its European sourcing, while Unilever acquired U.S. greens‑supplement brand Grüns to broaden its wellness portfolio. In a separate legal development, John Deere settled a right‑to‑repair lawsuit for...
Behind Klim’s New Tool to Turn Regenerative Agriculture Into a Financial Instrument
Klim has launched a financial modeling platform that translates regenerative agriculture practices into concrete profit‑and‑loss impacts for agrifood companies. The tool builds discounted cash‑flow scenarios to compare enterprise value with and without regenerative interventions, covering revenue, cost, risk and regulatory...
Verdant Robotics Expands Into Grass Seed and Sod, “Where the Weeds and the Crop Can Look Nearly Identical’
Verdant Robotics has extended its SharpShooter precision‑application system to grass seed and sod production, sectors where weeds closely resemble the crop. The tractor‑mounted platform uses high‑resolution cameras and machine‑learning‑driven 3D modeling to spray herbicide on weeds as small as 2 mm...
Vivici Sees 30% Boost in Titers, Yield, via Cell Productivity Tech From Enduro Genetics
Vivici, a precision‑fermentation startup producing whey beta‑lactoglobulin, integrated Enduro Genetics' Enduro Sense plug‑in into its production strain. Within five months the technology delivered a 30% lift in both titers and yields while using the same feedstock and bioreactor setup. The...
Guest Article: The Ag Lender’s Guide to AI Investment
AI is reshaping agricultural lending by automating back‑office tasks and delivering real‑time insights to loan officers. Successful pilots follow a 90‑day build‑test‑scale cycle, allowing rapid evaluation and scaling. The author stresses that AI should augment human interaction, preserving the deep...
Polybee Scales Physical AI Agents for “Immediate, Bankable ROI” In Specialty Crops
Polybee, a Singapore‑based agtech startup, deploys fleets of self‑charging drones that act as "physical AI agents" to monitor crop health, forecast yields, and perform pollination in specialty vegetables and fruits. The drones autonomously scan every plant, delivering data‑driven harvest timing...
FDA Exempts Tagatose From Added Sugar Labeling
The U.S. FDA has issued an enforcement‑discretion letter exempting low‑calorie sweetener tagatose from the "added sugar" line on Nutrition Facts panels. The change follows a successful lawsuit by Virginia startup Bonumose, which argued the agency’s prior denial was arbitrary and...
There Are ‘Credible Legal Questions as to Whether FDA Has the Legal Authority to Eliminate Self-GRAS,’ Say Legal Experts
The FDA is preparing a proposed rule that would require mandatory submission of GRAS notices, effectively ending the self‑affirmed GRAS pathway that currently allows companies to certify safety without FDA review. The rule, pending OMB approval, would create a public...