AgFunder just released the inaugural China AgriFood Startup Investing Report in collaboration with our report partner Bits x Bites. The report covers technology startups operating across the agrifood value chain as well as other non-tech startups disrupting China’s agrifood industry.

In 2017, Chinese agrifood startups raised $1.8 billion of investment across 177 deals with 198 participating investors.

The vast majority of startups featured in the report are building businesses downstream at the consumer end of the agrifood supply chain, to answer the growing middle class's demand for premium products - a major driver for the overall Chinese economy - as well as convenience.

Startups operating upstream raised just $106 million across 28 deals as scattered farmland and complicated supply chains make it difficult for upstream startups to gain momentum in China. 

China's position as the global leader in e-commerce shone through as the eGrocery segment raised the largest amount of investor funding at $814m.

Technology-enabled "new retail" built a lot of hype during the year, driving $565 million of investment in In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech but 90% of the startups offering unmanned store and vending machine technology had failed before the end of the year, according to local media reports.

China's three technology giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT) were key players in the sector during the year investing $741 million in agrifood startups (41% of total) and responsible for $5.8 million in M&A.

Find out more about the key deals and investors driving China's fledgling agrifood startup sector here: 

Download the FREE 32-page report here

Michael Dean, CIO, and the AgFunder team 

About AgFunder

AgFunder is an online Venture Capital Platform investing in the bold and exceptional entrepreneurs transforming our food and agriculture system. Our in-house technology enables us to invest globally and at scale, make better investment decisions,and supporting our portfolio companies. Through media and research, AgFunder has built a community of over 50,000 members and subscribers, giving us the largest and most powerful network in the industry.

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