2025年四季度食品科技风险投资趋势（英）

Foodtech VC Trends VC activity across the foodtech ecosystem The full report is availablethrough the PitchBook Platform. Contents Foodtech landscape3 Institutional Research Group Quarterly analysis4 Alex FrederickLead Research Analyst, Agri-foodtechalex.frederick@pitchbook.com VC activity pbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.com Notable deals Published on February 6, 2026 Exits AI update Foodtech VC deal summary25 Foodtechlandscape Alt-proteinsBioengineered foodsDiscovery & reviewE-commerceFood productionRestaurant & retail tech Quarterly analysis •Mujin’s $234.5 million Series D fueled food production segment growth:The automationplatform’s large raise drove the food production segment to $356.6 million across 20 deals,representing 74.1% growth in value and an 81.8% jump in deal count, underscoring strong investorinterest in supply chain eƾciency and automation-enabling infrastructure. Key takeaways •The market reset, but check sizes are stable:Q4 2025 foodtech VC investment totaled $2.5 billionacross 128 deals, down 8.6% in capital and 16.3% in deal count, with activity far below the Q4 2021peak of 709 deals, while overall deal values have been broadly ƽat since Q4 2022. •The dealmaking environment is selective heading into 2026:Despite pockets of strength ine-commerce, fermented proteins, and automation, the combination of declining deal counts, ƽatmedian values, and heavy late-stage concentration indicates a disciplined, thesis-driven marketwhere capital increasingly ƽows to category leaders and enabling platforms rather than broadearly-stage experimentation. •The exit environment remains muted:Foodtech exits in 2025 totaled only $287.7 million ofdisclosed value across 85 transactions, down sharply from $12.8 billion and 118 exits in 2024,indicating a challenging liquidity backdrop where most outcomes are small, strategic acquisitionsor buyouts rather than IPOs or premium exits. Exits have been most active within the alt-protein,restaurant tech, and e-commerce segments. •Categories to watch:We are most excited about food traceability, supply chain visibility, andautomation & robotics in 2026, while we are much more cautious about cultivated meat and ghostkitchens, which struggle with challenging economics. •Capital concentrated in large, late‑stage rounds:Funding skewed toward a handful of scalede-commerce players, with Picnic ($498.1 million), Zepto ($450 million Series H), and GoBrands($250 million) accounting for most of the $1.4 billion invested in e-commerce across just ninedeals, underscoring a “fewer, larger bets” dynamic. •Alt‑proteins see momentum via fermentation:Fermented protein startups logged $243.9 millionacross 13 deals, marking a fourth consecutive quarter of funding growth and signaling sustainedinvestor conviction in precision fermentation as a core alternative-protein platform. VC activity Foodtech VC activity in Q4 2025 reǗected a market that has largely reset from the 2021 peak and isnow selectively reallocating capital to higher-conviction themes. Quarterly funding totaled $2.5 billionacross 128 deals, representing declines of 8.6% in deal value and 16.3% in deal count. Deal volumeshave continued their downward slide from the Q4 2021 peak of 709 deals, while deal values have beeneffectively Ǘat since Q4 2022. This combination indicates that investor appetite for new logos andearlier-stage experimentation has cooled, but there is still meaningful capital available for scaled orcategory-leading assets. Within Q4 2025 deal activity, segment-level data underscores where investors see durable opportunity.E-commerce startups captured $1.4 billion across 31 deals—the highest aggregate deal value sinceQ3 2022—driven by three mega-rounds into Picnic ($498.1 million, late-stage VC), Zepto ($450 million,Series H), and GoBrands ($250 million, late-stage VC), highlighting a preference for backing proven,scaled models. Fermented protein—speciǖcally, precision fermentation—has emerged as the highest-convictioncategory within alt-proteins, with funding demonstrating sustained institutional support through fourconsecutive quarters of growth, totaling $243.9 million across 13 deals. This positive momentumreǗects a fundamental repricing of alternative protein risk: The sector has bifurcated sharply, withprecision fermentation capturing over 50% of all alternative protein capital in 2024-2025 while plant-based meat and cultivated meat funding collapsed. The migration of capital toward fermentation reǗects investor recognition that regulatory pathways have matured, with the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) having issued “no questions” letters now across multiple jurisdictions;1industrial-scale production is validated (with metric-ton volumes achieved by companies like EVERY andStanding Ovation); and commercialization pathways embedded within incumbent food manufacturinginfrastructure rather than requiring consumer adoption or commodity-level cost competitiveness. Thesector’