Farm Tech startup investment has grown 370% since 2013, reaching $4.7bn in 2019 across 695 deals. That consistent growth bucks global venture capital investment trends across sectors where funding dropped year-over-year in 2019. It also bucks the trend for investment in agri-foodtech -- innovation across the food supply chain -- where investment levels have been more volatile over the years.

While we expect investment to drop in 2020 with the economic fallout of Covid-19, some farm tech categories could become more attractive to investors.

With the benefit of 2020 hindsight, some 2019 deals look foolhardy while others look prescient as the pandemic squeezes supply chains, locks down consumers, spooks investors, and sparks a sudden rise of food nationalism.

Startups supporting local supply chains and food security would seem prescient, including several of the year’s largest deals: ProducePay, Plenty, InFarm, AeroFarms and Ninjacart.