The most talked about start-ups of 2025
From AI‑designed crop varieties and RNA crop protection to virtual fencing, laser soil scanners and extremophile microbes, here are the breakout agtech start‑ups of last year winning attention for solving hard, near‑term farm problems while attracting serious customers, partnerships and capital.
State of VC in agtech: Will 2026 be the year funding — finally — rebounds?
An agtech funding renaissance did not materialize in 2025, but venture capitalists are hopeful a new floor is firmly established this year, with AI and robotics leading the sector to its next growth stage.
Venture capitalists pushed back from agtech in 2025, as interest began to shift from biologicals to precision ag and robotics, boosted by interest in AI. However, systemic issues — including suppressed exits and a challenging start-up environment — will continue to shape the space for the foreseeable future.
Overall, agtech funding reached its lowest level in several years in 2025. VC deal counts and dollar sizes both dropped in 2025, with $4.799 billion raised across 735 deals, according to 2025 PitchBook data through Dec. 23. This compares to $5.099 billion across 913 deals from the previous year.
BASF to acquire biocontrol company AgBiTech, marking first M&A move of 2026
BASF started 2026 by scooping up a biological insect control company, as the chemical giant prepares to spin-off a portion of its agriculture business in 2027
BASF Agricultural Solutions is acquiring biological insect control company AgBiTech from private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners for an undisclosed amount of money to bolster its capabilities for the Brazilian market.
Founded in 2000, Texas-based AgBiTech uses nucleopolyhedrovirus technology to develop insect control products from naturally occurring viruses for corn, cotton, soybean, and specialty crops. Currently, AgBiTech offers products to Australia, Brazil, and the U.S., the company shared in a press release.
‘Trade chaos hurts farmers,’ Tariff turmoil upends planning for 2026 growing season
U.S. trade policy continues to put farmers and rural communities at financial risk, according to growers who are experiencing tariff impacts firsthand
Farmers from Iowa, Kansas, and Montana voiced their frustration with the Trump administration’s trade policy, sharing how tariffs impact operations, margins, communities, and the perception of the U.S. as a reliable trading partner, during a webinar hosted by Tariffs Cost Us.
Over the last year, tariffs created uncertainty in the ag economy, with many farmers now unsure how they should prepare for the 2026 growing season, including what to plant this year, and what market access will look like when it comes time to sell.
CES 2026: Kubota, Bobcat showcase AI advancements, indoor ag goes consumer tech with Luya
AI was all the rage at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show, as companies like Kubota and Bobcat showcased their automated machinery, and Luya demonstrated the potential of growing microgreens at home
Agricultural automation and AI were on full display at the 2026 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Jan. 6-9, as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), like Kubota and Bobcat, showcased their latest machines to help farmers.
At booth #6001, Kubota North America reinforced its smart farming strategy, highlighting an autonomous 105.7-horsepower diesel Kubota M5 Narrow tractor, made possible through a partnership with agtech company Agtonomy.
AI meets plant breeding: Heritable Agriculture and KWS target feed trait breakthroughs
A new partnership between US-based Heritable Agriculture and German plant breeding giant KWS aims to accelerate genetic improvements in feed crops using AI-driven gene discovery – unlocking nutritional and sustainability gains across the agricultural supply chain
Continuous improvement in feed traits is critical to addressing mounting challenges across the agricultural supply chain, from the farm to the consumer. Enhancing nutritional value and sustainability in feed crops like corn, cereals, and oilseed rape can deliver significant benefits:
- Maximizing feeding value: Better feed traits improve livestock performance, reduce feed costs, and support animal health.
- Driving sustainability: Greater feed efficiency means less crop is needed to produce the same amount of animal protein – reducing waste, land use, and environmental impact.
2026 Outlook: ATN editors weigh in on what’s next for ag
AgTechNavigator editors share their thoughts on funding, food waste, tech adoption, and more in this 2026 predictions and outlook round-up
The agriculture industry is gearing up for another challenging year, as persistent issues — a struggling farm economy, trade turmoil, and lack of adoption and funding for innovative technologies — are leaving a mark on the sector. However, with challenges come opportunities, as the ag sector takes an active role in combatting numerous health crises and global food waste.
These issues lay the foundation for what’s to come in the year ahead. Below, AgTechNavigator editors reflect back on 2025 and share their thoughts and predictions for 2026.
Turning agriculture into healthcare: Why The First Thirty is betting €100m on soil-to-health links
Investor Naeem Lakhani believes fixing human health starts with fixing soils. His agtech fund, The First Thirty, is raising €100m to back companies connecting soil biology, food quality, and human health – powered by AI and collapsing genomics costs
Food is crucial to health. That much is obvious. As investor Naeem Lakhani puts it: “If people ask where the evidence is, I just say, let’s book a doctor’s appointment in a year. You don’t eat. I will. And let’s see who shows up.”
But Lakhani is going one step further than that. As the founder of The First Thirty, an agtech venture capital fund, Lakhani is putting big money behind the idea that food is not simply key to sustaining life, but that many of our modern health struggles are a direct consequence of depleted food grown in a diminished environment. In other words, if you want to fix human health, fix the soils.
What will be the significance of the Mercosur signing for the European agri-tech sector?
EU governments have just given their provisional green light to the long‑delayed EU-Mercosur trade deal. Though it is not fully in force yet and still needs approval from the European Parliament, it promises to reshape competitive pressures in European agriculture
Most EU states approved the deal in spite of fierce opposition from France, Poland, Ireland, Austria, and Hungary. Despite the sweeteners for the farming sector including redirecting €45 billion from the next EU budget towards agriculture and proposals to have additional safeguards to avoid strong decreases in EU prices of agricultural products, many European farmers fear it will flood markets with cheaper South American agricultural imports produced under lower environmental, sanitary, and labour standards, undercutting local producers.
4 macro trends driving Brazil’s agribusiness sector in 2026
Brazil’s ag sector grew in 2025, but tariffs, tense politics, and trouble in the farm economy are blowing headwinds towards the Latin American country in 2026
Brazil’s agribusiness sector remains resilient in the face of macro factors — such as trade uncertainty, presidential politics, and challenging farming conditions — as production on several of its key commodities is expected to make records again in 2026, according to a Rabobank outlook report.
Rabobank’s 2026 Brazil outlook report highlighted four overarching themes impacting the country’s ag sector, including ongoing trade turmoil, low commodity prices for grains and feed prices, pinched farming margins, and volatility from the 2026 Brazilian election.