Sustainable agrifood tech fund Yield Lab Europe secures nearly €50m

Dublin-based Yield Lab Europe has raised almost €50 million at its second close for its sustainable agrifood tech venture capital fund.

The fund will focus on seed and Series A start-up investments across Europe, providing venture capital funding to companies that offer innovative technologies to improve the environmental and carbon footprint of the food and agricultural industries.

The agrifood industry is coming under increasing pressure to reduce its greenhouse emissions and move to more regenerative methods; and Yield Lab Europe aims to overcome these challenging demands by investing in start-ups that can enable this transition.

With its second close, Yield Lab Europe welcomes new investors such as the European Investment Fund, Invest-NL, Allied Irish Banks and a new family office investor.  

To date, the fund has backed seven start-ups under its annual accelerator programme including N2 Applied, which focuses on the decarbonisation of livestock; ApisProtect, which supports beekeepers in protecting their honey bees; and Kaffe Bueno, which focuses on upcycling coffee waste into active and functional ingredients for cosmetics, nutraceuticals and food.

The European accelerator forms part of the Yield Lab global network, with sister funds in the USA, Latin America and Asia Pacific – giving start-ups the opportunity to scale and commercialise internationally.

Yield Lab Europe chairman, Paul Finnerty, said: “We believe that zero-carbon agriculture and food production is a tremendous opportunity and can be achieved by 2040. We have invested and will continue to invest in technologies to enable this transition, to position European agriculture as a global leader in decarbonising agriculture and food.”

Alain Godard, CEO of the European Investment Fund, added: “Scaling up world-class research to advance agricultural technology, improve production, biodiversity and animal health, and adapt to a changing climate is crucial for agriculture in Ireland and Europe. The European Investment Fund is pleased to support Yield Lab Europe’s expansion into Europe and increase venture capital backing for agricultural innovation.”

The Yield Lab Europe is also expanding into the Netherlands with the opening of a new Dutch office, as part of its recent partnership with StartLife, the agrifood tech hub and accelerator for Wageningen University & Research.