Funding across the Agrifoodtech space was down -32% in Q3 2025 compared to the previous quarter, and down nearly -50% compared to last year, according to preliminary data from AgFunder. Deal count is also down, and overall funding in Q3 was led by just a few big fund raises that AgFunder calls “a handful of bright glimmers against an otherwise-gloomy funding backdrop.”
Starting with those bright spots, the top category for fundraising in Q3 2025 was “Farm Management Software, Sensing.” AgFunder notes the category has not led investment in the space in the several years as “Ag Biotech”, “Bioenergy & Biomaterials”, and “Innovative Food” have captured more investor attention.
Virtual fencing company “Halter” led funding in the Farm Management Software, Sensing category with a $100 million raise. Another virtual fencing system, “Nofence,” closed a $35 million deal during the quarter as well. Other big deals in the category included a $60 million raise by “EarthDaily,” a geospatial intelligence company, and a $50 million funding round by feed management platfrom “BinSentry.”
Notably, funding for robotics and mechanization plummeted some -36%, to $108 million in Q3 from $168 million in Q2. Comparisons to last year are, again, even steeper with investment down a whopping -57%. Total funding in the category has only reached $412 million in 2025 so far.
Over the past year, the robotics and mechanization sector has continued to mature, according to the Mixing Bowl’s 2025 “Crop Robotics Landscape” report. Roughly 15% of the companies in last year’s report have exited the 2025 edition, while 20% of those appearing in 2025 are new entrants—an indicator of a dynamic and highly competitive innovation environment.
Mixing Bowl says the “robotic revolution” in agriculture is still in its early stages. In the meantime, as these robotic offerings continue to mature, market drivers continue to increase the push towards autonomy and precision in production agriculture. Mixing Bowl says he market mirrors the trajectory of other emerging ag innovation arenas: deliberate in pace, but compounding in impact as capabilities, cost structures, and trust improve.
“Progress in autonomous navigation, drones, and precision spraying and weeding continues, while harvesting remains the most technically challenging frontier. Wider adoption across the sector will depend on overcoming scaling limitations and regulatory barriers that constrain autonomous operation in open fields.”
It’s also worth mentioning signals that investors may be cautiously returning to the “Innovative Foods” category. Funding climbed +42% quarter-over-quarter to $165 million. Still, that’s down substantially the record $4.8 billion raised in 2021, when alternative protein companies like “Beyond Meat” were all the rage.
The top fundraising rounds in the Innovative Foods category in Q3 2025 focused on fungi, egg replacements, and mycoprotein. AgFunder notes that most of these startups supply ingredients, technologies, or both to other food companies, rather than being directly consumer-facing. (Sources: Agfunder, MixingBowlHub, AgTechNavigator)
