NEW TECH FOODS

Area 2 Farms, a US start-up specialising in soil-based, hyper-local farming, will open a new sustainable urban farm in Fairfax City, Northern Virginia, by the end of 2025.

BASF, Corteva Agriscience and MS Technologies have signed a trait licensing agreement to introduce BASF’s nematode-resistant soybean (NRS) trait into Enlist E3 and Conkesta E3 soybean varieties for farmers in Brazil.

Prefer has raised $4.2 million in an oversubscribed funding round and launched its first commercial products.

Switch Bioworks has appointed two senior executives and moved into a new corporate headquarters and R&D facility in San Carlos, California, as it advances its biotechnology-based fertiliser development.

Australian cultivated meat company Magic Valley has announced a strategic partnership with US-based deep tech company Pythag Tech to support its scale-up using AI-powered bioprocess optimisation.

Israeli biotech start-up Novella Innovative Technology has partnered with Australian ingredient developer Metaphor Foods to bring next-generation natural food preservation solutions to market.

Foodtech company Win-Win, known for creating what it claims is the UK’s first cocoa-free chocolate alternative, has closed a £3 million Series A funding round.

The UK government has announced its Digital & Technology Sector Plan as part of its broader Industrial Strategy, including a £184m Engineering Biology Scale-up Infrastructure Programme to build and upgrade facilities.