Rethink Food

Our Managing Partner Brad Jakeman was honored to meet with His Majesty King Charles III yesterday to discuss the important work His Majesty’s Circular Bioeconomy Alliance is leading around the world.? ? The Alliance is working to accelerate the transition to a nature-first circular bioeconomy that is climate neutral, inclusive, and prosperous – helping to build a sustainable future for generations to come.? ? This work is closely aligned with our mission at Rethink Food to digitize and decarbonize the global food system for the betterment of the planet and its people. ? #CBA #NatureFirstEconomy

?? Are you or do you know of a graduate student looking to break into impact investing? Rethink Food is excited to participate as a host fund in the Impact Capital Managers 2025 Mosaic Fellowship program! The Mosaic Fellowship offers graduate students the chance to gain hands-on experience at top market-rate private capital impact funds while earning a competitive stipend. Apply today! Fellows engage in: ? Deal sourcing & due diligence ? Impact measurement & management ? Fundraising & more ?? APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 2 at 11:59 PM ET Learn more here and apply:?https://lnkd.in/eMCJ5Dw6 #impactinvesting #fellowship #fellowshipprogram

Curious how AI will alter the venture ecosystem? ?? ? Our Managing Partner, Rini Greenfield, will join a panel at the Women’s Private Capital Summit in NYC this week to discuss how AI is reshaping venture capital. The panel will dive into:? ? ?? The impact of AI on investment strategies ?? How tech giants like Microsoft and Google are driving AI innovation? ?? Opportunities and challenges for AI startups in today’s fundraising landscape? ? ?? : Thursday, Nov. 14 @ 2:15 PM EST? ? Join Rini alongside fellow panelists Parinaz Sobhani (Sagard), Tara Stokes (Point72 Ventures), and Lu Zhang (Fusion Fund), for insights on the future of VC in the age of AI, moderated by Susan Crotty (Segal Macro Advisors).? ? If you’re attending, make sure to stop by the panel or reach out to Rini to connect! ? For more event info, visit:? https://lnkd.in/gtQ5bajQ ? With Intelligence - Women's Summits #WPCS23

We’re proud to share that our CEO and Co-Founder, Tim Bucher, has been recognized by the World Food Prize Foundation as a Top Agri-Food Pioneer! ???This honor reflects the dedication of the entire Agtonomy team to advancing agricultural technology and sustainable practices. We're excited to see this work acknowledged alongside other leaders shaping the future of agriculture and food security! #WorldFoodPrizeFoundation #Agtonomy #Agriculture #AgriTech #FoodSecurity #Innovation

Drumroll please…??? ?? ?? ? ?? Thrilled to share that our portfolio company Phytoform has officially announced its tiny tomato plants ?? that could be a potential breakthrough crop for precision breeding and vertical farming. This precision-bred variety, only one-sixth the size of a conventional tomato plant, can produce up to 400% more fruit annually without requiring any extra growing space.? ? “Things are changing so fast now, both in terms of climate change and human population growth, that I don't think traditional breeding can keep up any longer. The technologies that can dramatically speed up this process are ready to be used and need to get out there," says CEO William Pelton.? ? Phytoform expects to commercialize its tomato product sometime in 2025, but this is just the beginning of how their team is transforming the future of food to be more efficient and sustainable.??? ? Learn more AgFunder:?https://lnkd.in/eZ-rzcPd

Phytoform's tiny and tasty tomatoes can produce 190% to 400% more kgs of fruit per sq meter. This is just the start of how William Pelton, Nicolas Kral, PhD, and their team can grow food smarter, faster, and more sustainably. Excited that Rethink Food is along for the ride ??

?? Big congrats to our portfolio company Brightseed for being named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2024 list for its work using AI to identify compounds in nature that can help benefit human health. Proud to support Lee Chae, PhD, Sofia Elizondo, Jim Flatt and the entire Brightseed team! Learn more ??

We’re thrilled to announce our latest investment in Agtonomy, a farmer-founded #AgTech and software company that has just closed a $32.8M Series A round!??? ? Agtonomy is leveraging AI-driven automation to help address agriculture’s most pressing challenges, including labor shortages, climate change, and diminishing profit margins. Its technology integrates with brand-name tractors, transforming them into remote-operated machines that can perform tasks more efficiently and sustainably. ?? ?? ? This investment aligns seamlessly with our mission to digitize and decarbonize the food system by improving yields and supporting sustainable practices through automation. We’re so proud to support co-founders Tim Bucher and Valerie Syme, and the entire team alongside Autotech Ventures, Allison Transmission, Black Forest Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, and Carvallo Partners. See the full announcement ?? https://lnkd.in/gUGVei5X

?? Climate change continues to bring severe weather conditions that are placing growing challenges on agriculture. We desperately need crops capable of withstanding droughts, extreme heat, flooding, and storm surges ?? – that’s where our portfolio company, Phytoform, comes in.? ? At the forefront of biotechnology, AI, and agriculture, Phytoform is pioneering advanced crop genetics ?? to develop plants that can thrive in a changing climate. The company was awarded the highly selective IRCAI - International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO & Amazon Web Services (AWS) Compute for Climate Fellowship in 2023 ?, aligned with its mission of improving sustainability in agriculture. Through this program, Phytoform refined its AI-driven platform,?CRE.AI.TIVE, which unlocks new insights from plant genomics, evolving traits that make crops stronger and more adaptable.? ? “With the help from AWS and IRCAI we were able to really accelerate our solution to deploy a unique approach to enhance R&D and secure the food of tomorrow,” said Nicolas Kral, PhD, CTO of Phytoform. ? Learn more about Phytoform:?https://lnkd.in/eD4XeKq5 ? Learn more about the Compute for Climate Fellowship:?https://lnkd.in/gckYXHYW

So proud to support team Kernel Foods!! Learn how Steve Ells is once again disrupting the fast casual food landscape ?? ??