The food trends VCs are craving right now

Plus, October’s busiest startup investors November 7, 2023 Hi, {NAME}.. Want some mushroom jerky? How about some extra-concentrated coffee, or maybe ramen noodles made from pumpkin seeds? Venture investors are backing those and other food concepts, whether they’re improvements on old standbys or whole new food categories. We identify [five food trends VCs are pouring money into this year](. Plus, we look at the [10 busiest U.S. startup investors last month]( and a Germany-based [OpenAI]( rival that just [raised $500 million](. 💰 [Funding may be slow, but these investors got busy]( Startup investment continues to be spotty, with October [dipping below the already-subdued monthly averages]( we’ve seen this year. But some investors are picking up the pace a bit. We look at the top 10 most active U.S. startup investors last month. 🥣 [5 food startup trends investors are salivating for right now]( VCs continue to invest in startups reinventing the things we eat and drink in new ways, from new-and-improved versions of things we already enjoy — coffee, breakfast cereal, fine whiskey — to avant garde new concepts like seafood alternatives made from microbial fermentation. 🤖 [Tech giants invest $500M in European OpenAI rival]( [Bosch]( [SAP]( and [Hewlett Packard Enterprise]( are among the new backers of [Aleph Alpha]( a Germany-based large language model that competes with [OpenAI]( and [Anthropic](. 📊 [Global VC funding has another ho-hum month]( Global venture funding totaled $21 billion in October — a few billion dollars below the average 2023 monthly funding amount to date — [Crunchbase]( data shows, and down almost a quarter from the same month a year ago. Consider too that last month’s total global startup funding was less than one-third the monthly totals during the heyday months of 2021. 🤝 [How US companies can gain an edge with LatAm talent]( Over the course of 2023, U.S. companies have ramped up their year-over-year hiring in Latin America by a staggering 50%. Guest author [Gert Findel]( looks at how U.S. companies can gain a competitive edge by tapping into Latin America’s vast tech talent pool. ⚖️ [SBF guilty verdict marks chapter in crypto history]( It didn’t take long for a jury to convict [Sam Bankman-Fried]( the one-time crypto wunderkind, of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The verdict came just about a year after FTX’s epic fall from grace rattled the markets. It also seems to have helped torpedo funding to the crypto sector, [Crunchbase data]( shows. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [Crypto Funding Since FTX’s Collapse]( [Crunchbase ROI Calculator]( [See the number of new accounts Crunchbase can add to your funnel with our advanced prospecting ROI calculator powered by Crunchbase data.]( [Calculate]( Recent Investments [Aleph Alpha]( [$500M]( / [Series B]( Aleph Alpha specializes in researching, developing, and implementing AI-based technologies for both public and private sectors. Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Machine Learning • Natural Language Processing • Software Founders: [Jonas Andrulis]( [Samuel Weinbach]( Investors: [Bosch Ventures]( (Lead), [Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence]( (Lead), [Schwarz Group]( (Lead) [+ 4 more]( [OrganiGram]( [42M CAD]( / [Post-IPO Equity]( OrganiGram is a producer and distributor of medical and recreational cannabis. Categories: Cannabis • Health Care • Medical Founders: [Jim Laffoley]( Investors: [British American Tobacco]( (Lead) [Euler Motors]( [1.2B INR]( / [Series C]( Euler Motors is a transport company that builds electric 3 and 4 wheelers that can be used for intra-city goods transportation. Categories: Automotive • Autonomous Vehicles • Electric Vehicle • Logistics Founders: [Saurav Kumar]( Investors: [British International Investment]( (Lead), [ADB Ventures]( [Alteria Capital]( [+ 4 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Nowsta]( $35M / [Series C]( [VMG Partners]( [Forum Brands]( $22M / [Venture Round]( - [Masterplan.com]( Unknown / [Debt Financing]( - [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [LV Energy Services]( Pending acquisition by [Green Energy Services]( for $25M #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. [Follow Us on Crunchbase]( [View Jobs on LinkedIn]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Like Us on Facebook]( 564 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2023 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.