Agricultural technology, often referred to as “AgTech,” is playing an increasingly bigger role on modern farms, and that role is evident when examining AgTech startups’ growing access to venture capital. Data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association’s PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, a quarterly report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, indicates that AgTech startups received $6.1 billion in VC investments in 2020. That reflects a nearly 60 percent increase in investment over 2019. Weaknesses in the agricultural and food supply chain revealed during the pandemic undoubtedly drove some of that investment. Widespread recognition of a need for improvements within the agricultural sector so it can meet the demands of a global population that the United Nations estimates will increase by two billion people by 2050 also likely contributed to the considerable rise in VC investment in AgTech startups.
