KTN supports £20 million investment boost for the AgriTech sector

SMEs and investors can now apply to get involved in Round Two.

Call for Investors: Closes on 10 November 2021

SMEs Competition: Closes on 17 November 2021

As applications for Round Two are in full swing, let’s look back on the success of Round One and how KTN supported the programme.

A success for SMEs and investors alike 

The portfolio of companies that received funding and investment during Round One is varied and includes:

• cultured meat production
• robotic harvesting
• data capture and prediction through artificial intelligence (diseases, pests or artificial insemination)

Below, Dyneval CEO Dr Tiffany Wood explains how grant and private investment they received through the programme will accelerate development of their novel semen quality measurement technology.

CEO of Higher Steaks, Benjamina Bollog, shares how instrumental the Series A Investment Partnership has been in getting a further £2.5 million of investment for their cultivating meat company.

Seven of the 11 lead investors identified potential investment and tailored a deal with some of the 31 companies who took part in the programme. All deals included syndication from outside the pool of lead investors, with many new and existing investors participating through the syndication opportunity.

Hear from one of the lead investors, Jim Dobson, founder and former CEO of Dunbia who invested £1.3M through Cottagequinn Enterprises:

How KTN helped shape the programme 

The programme was born out of KTN’s AgriTech Investment Showcase. The AgriTech Investment Showcase  focused on getting AgriTech companies investment ready before pitching to investors. The event, which ran for four years, identified how valuable support is for early stage companies, and the need for Series A funding in the UK to accelerate company growth.

“The KTN AgriFood team who ran the AgriTech Investment Showcase played a significant role in the success of Round One of the Series A Investment Partnership. Thanks to the showcase, a diverse and growing UK Agri-tech investment community had been stimulated during the past three years. Testament to the quality of the training they delivered for four years, out of 41 investment deals in the UK AgriFood sector that took place during that time, 51% of them involved someone who has taken part in the AgriTech Investment Showcase.”

Chris Danks, Transforming Food Production – Innovation Lead, Innovate UK 

During Round One of the Series A Investment Partnership, KTN worked closely with the SMEs selected to give them the best chances of success.

A key part of this was a four week Investor Readiness Bootcamp, providing guidance on investor readiness fundamentals from KTN staff members and external experts. It included two panels with investors who were part of the selected pool of investors for the programme. They discussed their investment philosophies, what they are looking for when they invest, common pitfalls and more.

The AgriFood team also gave the SMEs individual feedback on their pitches, and we shared all the pitches with the investors to spark conversations.

Hear from Dogtooth Technologies COO Ed Herbert on the support he received. 

KTN support for Round Two 

The Investor Readiness Bootcamp training provided to successful SMEs in Round One is now accessible for all who are considering applications for round two. Click here to request access.

The KTN AgriFood team is also here to discuss applications and share advice on how to make a strong application, particularly for SMEs who are new to Innovate UK funding.

The team will also offer feedback on pitches in advance of the January 2022 showcase for those companies who are invited to the next stage of the programme.

If you’d like to get support from the KTN AgriFood team, get in touch with Simon Baty.