Food Seed Tech

We work with leading corporations, startups, universities, and growers to solve the biggest challenges facing the food and agriculture industries. Accelerator Program We support seed stage startups from all areas of the value chain whose technologies drive us toward a more efficient, sustainable & secure agriculture future. THRIVE TOP 50 THRIVE Top 50 is an annual ranking of leading global AgTech and FoodTech companies exemplifying the best in agriculture and food focused innovation. SVG Ventures | THRIVE SVG Ventures | THRIVE invests in all companies that go through our award winning accelerator program and make follow on investments in some of these companies in subsequent stages.

Pioneers in deploying venture capital into high impact agrifood tech since 2014, we back ambitious teams that are reconnecting and strengthening the link between human health and the health of the planet through innovative technology. Clay Capital was founded with the belief that food is both the cause of, and remedy to, some of today’s most urgent challenges: environmental degradation, societal inequity, and human health. We see these issues as interconnected.In Europe and Asia especially, there is a generation of entrepreneurs motivated to tackle the $12 trillion market opportunity that lies in restoring and reconnecting human and planetary health - and who have a toolkit fit for purpose: from farmers and chefs, to biotechnologists, computational biologistics, plant scientists, computer engineers and multidisciplinary teams merging these skillsets. There is no single silver bullet; transforming a system that has supported humanity in its evolution from Nomadic to Agrarian, and been the seed that rooted and grew societies around the globe, will not happen overnight. Therefore, there’s an urgent need for both transitional solutions and revolutionary new infrastructure. We aim to back both, and enable a healthier food system to co-exist with a healthier planet within our lifetimes. Clay Capital invests to strengthen and refocus how materials are produced and consumed through innovation to have sustainable, nutritious, and circular outcomes. This context presents us with unrivalled opportunities for smart investing - investments that address urgent issues today, for a better tomorrow.

Over the past few years, we’ve been faced with the reality that the world as we know is changing. Whether it’s a shifting workforce dynamic, rising material costs and increased regulations or reframing business to a global mindset.‍ We acknowledge that growth and evolution are the status quo, and standing still is simply not an option. We took it upon ourselves to look to the future and imagine what our actions today may affect as we go about our daily lives. It is in our nature to question our decisions, our thought process, and to reconsider what our “normal” is in the pursuit of greater, better ideas. With that in mind, we are moving forward as venture builders, automation innovators, as Vebu Labs.‍ This new iteration of our operation is focused on many of the same things that Wavemaker Labs has grown to be known for, but with the added intention of focusing on the food supply chain, automation innovation, and improving access to quality food for everyone. At our core, we are venture builders We’ve always been a lab, we’ve always been builders. Whether that is big, broad sweeping changes to markets and industries ripe for change, or in smaller, intentional changes to problems we face, we’re here to build, and we do so with ventures and partners that have the same values that we do. What does this mean for our operations & partners? In a word, nothing. We are still the powerhouse of engineering, tech, and expertise that has propelled Wavemaker Labs to the status that we have today, but are refocusing ourselves in what we say, how we say it, and the core focus of our team. Though we’ve always been driven to build better, we are clear that our focus needs to be on automating the food supply chain and improving access across the board, whether that is through true partnership with technology and automation, intentional design with our brands and products, or by leveraging our tech stack to drive better options for the future.‍ To us, our brand is the overarching principle that guides our daily life. It is the spoken truth that informs all of the unspoken actions and activities that connect us as a team, to each other, to our partners, and to our overall purpose. Our intention, our purpose, is at the forefront of our minds at each step and is why we can feel confident we are all rowing this ship in the same direction. What is our purpose? We are here to Found, Fund, and Scale transformative ventures to enable better food production. This is true and prevalent throughout our work, but what does that mean on a daily, get out of bed in the morning, level?‍ Our operation is built on the development of a future that makes humanity more effective, that leverages technology in a way that is iterative and constructive, and that cooperates unselfishly to build what benefits the largest proportion of the world. We know the future of food is bright, and we are Venture Builders working to make that future a reality.

We believe inclusive systems innovation, which enables all people and places to participate and benefit, is essential to a strong food system that is better for everyone. With teams on the ground across Europe, we bridge the gap between countries and regions with low innovation capacity and those leading the way. And we put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food, directly involving them in the innovation process, and working with the food sector to increase transparency. Collaboration is central to all our work, which spans the whole food value chain, and is vital to meet the big challenges we face. Together with our community, we will build an innovative and resilient food system that in turn creates a healthier society and planet.

We are the corporate venture capital arm of Paulig, investing in startups that contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet. We seek financial and societal impact in our investments, as well as a strategic link between Paulig and the startups we back. As an evergreen fund connected to a 150-year-old family-owned business, we don’t have a determined time for exit and always act in the best joint interest of the startup and investors. Our investment focus PINC was launched as Paulig Incubator in 2018 to help Paulig stay in the forefront of relevant innovations, as well as to contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet. Today, our ambition is the same, but we have developed into a corporate venture arm. We aim for strategic, financial, and societal impact in our investments, fostering a sustainable food system for tomorrow. We are investing across the agrifood value chain in three primary impact themes: Improve planetary health and diet within the current food system: This includes innovations in agriculture and food security, such as advanced crop breeding or green fertilizers, innovative ingredients and next generation healthy foods, as well as solutions for tracking and improving climate and nature. Novel technologies to feed 10 BN people by 2050: Technologies needed to sustainably produce enough food for our growing population. This includes food production without land use change, such as precision fermentation and cell-cultivation. A circular system for food & materials: Regardless of whether we grow our food in soil or in bioreactors, the system needs to be circular. Some examples are upcycled ingredients, food from unused sources, new coating and packaging solutions, as well as technologies to prevent or make better use of side streams. We are looking for entrepreneurs in an attractive market space with an intrinsic drive to find a solution to the problem they are addressing, a clear and scalable plan for success, a complimentary team and partners whom we can trust and work closely with. We value collaboration and are proactively working with building strong investment syndicates, in which we’re flexible in our role as co-investor, co-lead, or lead investor, if there is a strong strategic link. As a corporate venture capital and evergreen fund, we always act in the best joint interest of the startup and investors. Investment criteriaPre-seed & seed Entry ticket €200k-€1M Focus on the Nordics & Europe Strategic link to Paulig preferred Flexible in the role as co-investor, co-lead, or lead investor Our offer We’re a value driven team with financial, operational, and strategic experience and capabilities. We have a hands-on approach and support founders when needed or actively through board roles. Our extensive Nordic and European network of investors and innovation-enablers can help to accelerate development and scale-up efforts. Moreover, PINC serves as an entryway to Paulig for collaborations, consumer insights, expert guidance in brand and product development, and access to a vast European sales and distribution network.

ICL is a global leader in the field of agriculture, food, and engineered materials, and continually seeks with its unparalleled R&D infrastructure to develop innovative solutions for humanity’s greatest sustainability challenges. ICL Planet Startup Hub is the vehicle in which ICL chooses to work with innovative companies, synergize with their novelty, and short-cut their way to global play. Our ICL Planet Startup Hub offers a unique flexible hybrid innovation model that uses various startup incubator and startup accelerator elements to synergize ICL’s resources, expertise, mentorship, and infrastructure with early-stage innovative AgTech startups and FoodTech startups with the goal to make an impact in the world we live in and in the AgriFood Tech ecosystem. Together, we can grow game-changing technology and address vital global sustainability concerns, in order to create significant environmental transformation! We created ICL Planet Startup Hub, a vehicle in which ICL cultivates, nurtures, and accelerates innovation and technologies in the AgriFood tech ecosystem. We invite entrepreneurs, innovators, and AgTech & FoodTech startups to join forces with us and fulfill their potential. Together we can make an impact on global challenges and disrupt the AgriFood tech ecosystem. By joining our cutting-edge AgriFood tech startup hub, you’ll be partnering with a trusted name and an industry leader. We at ICL are on a continual quest to create sustainable solutions for the global food, agriculture, and industrial markets that impact the daily lives of millions worldwide. We seek, invest and grow disruptive companies that can favorably affect the industries we work in and lead, in order to address critical global needs and bring about a positive environmental impact on our collective future.